The Gorham School Committee (SC) met in executive session on June 22 to hear a complaint about personnel under Policy KE: Public Complaints. During public comment times at recent SC meetings, Eric Lane, who lives in Standish but has a daughter in Gorham Middle School, has accused Superintendent Heather Perry of discriminating against him because of his Christian values. According to the American Journal, Lane wrote SC Chair Anne Schools expressing concern about her role in the hearing because he was suspicious that she wanted to divert or stall procedures.
Under Policy KE, Schools had determined that Lane’s personnel complaint should come before the SC. She told the Gorham Times that “it has been reported that a concern has been raised about me personally. I believe the concern is meritless,” but she asked Darryl Wright to facilitate the executive session “out of an abundance of caution.” The procedure permits the person making the complaint ten minutes to speak. The person who is the subject of the complaint may also speak for ten minutes. No action was taken at the hearing, and since this was a personnel matter it was not public. Two other complaints have been made to the SC chair; one will be brought to the committee and the other has yet to be determined by the chair.
Lane and several other parents have addressed the School Committee at public meetings with complaints about curriculum materials. Policy IJJ delegates responsibility for the selection of instructional and library materials to the professionally trained District personnel, subject to criteria and procedures. These are outlined in Policy IJJ-R and IJJ-RR, available on-line from the School Committee section of the Gorham School Department website.
Lane’s complaint about posters that defined gender identity vocabulary was reviewed following the procedure for a materials challenge. After following policy procedures the request for their removal was denied. Lane has requested an appeal to the School Committee whose decision will be final. He has filed one other request for removal of a book from the GHS library: “All Boys Aren’t Blue: A Memoir-Manifesto,” a young adult memoir by a queer Black boy that is also available at Baxter Memorial Library. The book has at least one sexually explicit paragraph. Additionally, two other requests have been filed to remove a book from the GHS library. One request is regarding the same book, the other is for a different book. All requests are being processed using procedures outlined in school policy.
Andrew LaPlaca, a Gorham parent, has filed a complaint about a GHS library book, the graphic novel version of “The Handmaid’s Tale” by Margaret Atwood, a futuristic dystopian novel which is also the basis of a television series. This complaint has been addressed by Sandra Rockett, GHS librarian, and GHS Principal Brian Jandreau and will follow the process for further evaluation.
According to Superintendent Perry, “Each case is being dealt with individually according to its own merit. The School Committee and I are following all policies and procedures as outlined in our Policy.”