G-E-T community members call for action after ‘racially charged threat’

Approximately 40 members of the Gale-Ettrick-Trempealeau community appeared before the district school board asking it to update its policies and address racial issues that they said the district has been dealing with for many years.

The call to action came after a September incident in which what was referred to as a “racially charged threat” was made by a student toward a teacher. District officials said they could not offer more details about the incident. 

The message shared by community members and a school board member was concern that it wasn’t an isolated incident, but rather a systemic issue within the district. 

Board members acknowledged the issue, and board president Pat Malone said the district had already started looking at updating policies. 

“What happened was egregious and nobody is happy about it,” Malone said. “We feel shame and embarrassment and hurt… We are working on all of our policies. We had some things going on and we were like ‘we can’t wait, we have to do this.’”

Seven community members — including four G-E-T High School students — addressed the board during the portion of the meeting that allows for public comments.

Former G-E-T school board member Kari Marley spoke to the board about white privilege. She asked that the district be more active in fighting against racism and listen to “marginalized communities.”

“Anti-racism is an active process,” Marley said. “Not a ‘teach this curriculum once in a while’ process, not a ‘this kind of thing happens from time-to-time so we will say that we will deal with it’ process, not a ‘nothing needs to be done, this will work itself out’ process, not a ‘tell community members that the admin team is handling it’ process.”

Galesville resident Heather Smock told the board that a social media group, SAFE Spaces For Everyone, was created and already had 144 members. The group circulated a letter that had 259 signatures as of last Monday and was read by high school students Sawyer Smock, Westlie Olson, Melanie Robinson and Alexis James.

The letter referred to a 2019 incident in which one student’s life was reportedly threatened by other students who used racially derogatory terms. The letter said there were other incidents that were “dismissed, downplayed, lacked transparency and had even more inadequate responses than the most recent occurrence involving racial threats.” 

“Once again our district has experienced a hate-based incident followed by a concerning response that will not allow any meaningful change within our district,” a portion of the letter read by Sawyer Smock said.

G-E-T senior Leslie Olson continued saying: “These are chronic symptoms of much larger systemic issues within our district… we are the example statewide of what not to do.”

Junior Melanie Robinson called on the board to update policies, which she said have not been changed since 2018 and do not address threats. She also asked that the district offer education and support for students and staff regarding bias, hate, discrimination and harassment.

The conclusion of the letter, read by junior Alexis James, called for a partnership between the district and SAFE Spaces For Everyone.

“Our district mission statement is ‘Learning for all, learning for life,’” James said. “Until all students and staff feel that they belong, feel safe, valued and respected, how can we be a community where everyone grows, excels and thrives?”

Galesville resident Shawn Robinson indicated he was displeased with the district’s response to the incident after e-mail exchanges with Superintendent Michele Butler and board member Adam Leavitt. Robinson said the student wasn’t removed from the school after the incident. 

“My concern is that we’re not treating people equally in the school, whether it’s students, teachers or staff,” Robinson said. “We’re all human beings.”

School board member Kara Nelson agreed that racism is a longstanding issue within the district and encouraged community members to continue fighting for a resolution. Nelson mentioned that the district’s nickname used to be Redmen, which she thought was racist when she was a high school student in the 1990s, but the nickname stuck until 2010. 

“We know this is a community in which we have struggled with racism and racist incidents,” Nelson said. “This isn’t new to us. I don’t want it to take 20 years to acknowledge that this is an issue. I want to say to the students, especially, keep pushing.” 

Malone said that the issue extends beyond the hallways of G-E-T, but acknowledged the need for improvement within the district.

“I want to point out that the issue of racism and feeling unsafe extends far beyond our school walls,” Malone said. “The school alone cannot be responsible for creating a civil, respectful, inclusive school or community. It is the responsibility of all of us and we need to accept that responsibility to make the world a kinder place.”

She went on to say that the school and community need to improve their knowledge of racial issues. “We need to know more so we can take the action that needs to be taken.”