This video tells the story of how GHAPS administrators organized students and community activists to speak in opposition to parents at a school board meeting. Many parents were opposed to age inappropriate, sexually explicit books and had been speaking at school board meetings. They asked GHAPS administration to rate books and require parental permission before children could access the material.
Instead of considering input from parents, GHAPS administrators summoned the help of like-minded school personnel and community activists. The Curriculum Director Mary Jane Evink requested support from her contacts at the Momentum Center, the Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging Committee, the Lakeshore Ethnic Diversity Alliance and the student-led group Calling All Colors. Through these contacts, students in the Calling All Colors Club as well as some students in 9th Grade English class were told parents wanted to ban books. Several representatives including both children and adults from the afore mentioned organizations spoke at a school board meeting.
This conduct violates several Board Policies including:
Po3110 Conflict of Interest - No staff member, officer, or agent shall use his/her position to benefit either himself/herself or any other individual or agency apart from the total interest of the School District.
Po3112 Board-Staff Communications - Discussions between staff and Board members of personalities or personnel grievances will be considered to be unethical conduct.
The Director of Educational Services, Mary Jane Evink, clearly violated this policy when she discussed names of specific parents with members of the community including representatives from the Momentum Center. She has done this on more than one occasion, but there is a clear example of this behavior near the end of the video linked above.
Po3231 Outside Activities of Staff - It is the policy of the Board of Education that professional staff members avoid situations in which their personal interests, activities, and associations may conflict with the interests of the District. If such situations occur, the Superintendent shall evaluate the impact of such activity or association upon the professional staff member’s responsibilities and take appropriate action as necessary.
Not only did the GHAPS Curriculum Director Mary Jane Evink violate these policies, but there are references to Scott [Grimes] the GHAPS Superintendent, in more than one email showing she violated these policies. This shows the Superintendent Scott Grimes was aware of Mary Jane’s behavior and neglected to take disciplinary action. This is completely unacceptable. The Grand Haven Community and our students deserve better. Mary Jane Evink, Scott Grimes, board members and school personnel who violate policy must be held accountable.
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