A parent with five kids enrolled in Boone County Schools called on the board of education Thursday to “stop using inclusivity as a buzzword and start being inclusive in the district.”
The comment came during discussion at the March 14 board of education meeting over an election process to choose a minority parent to serve on the search committee for a new superintendent.
Antoine Smith-Rouse, who has seven children total, was one of the candidates in the election process, which he called tedious. The deadline to nominate was on March 11 and the election was held on Wednesday, March 13. Voting was anonymous, with one vote per parent.
The winner of the election has not yet been announced.
“Since a minority was not organically chosen through the initial search, there has been a special election for the minority parent representative,” Smith-Rouse said. “During that process, it has been treated as an afterthought and not a priority. The individuals were sent out an all-call and were told to leave a voicemail. There was no communication that they could run until the day before. The day when the election was supposed to take place, yesterday, we received an email at 8 a.m. on Tuesday letting us know we were expected to come to speak at 6 p.m. on Thursday and that the vote would take place in person and there would be no outside voting allowed.”
Smith-Rouse said that when one looks at who disproportionately has a lack of transportation and flexibility due to the types of jobs, they are required to have, the quick timeline disproportionately affects minorities.
According to the Kentucky Department of Education, Boone County School District student demographics make up a 73.6% white population, 11% Hispanic, 7.3% African American and 8.1% other races.
After viewing the ballot, Smith-Rouse questioned the eligibility of someone with minority status based on the strict definition that states: “the definition of minority means American Indian; Alaskan native; African-American; Hispanic, including persons of Mexican, Puerto Rican, Cuban, and Central or South American origin; Pacific islander; or other ethnic group underrepresented in the school. The parent must have a student who attends a school within the Boone County School District. The student does NOT have to be a minority.”
“I was told yet again that it was not going to be verified and was just going to be taken in good faith and, once again, treated as an afterthought,” Smith-Rouse said.
Due to the small number of parents in attendance for the election of the minority parent, Smith-Rouse suggested the votes be counted on the same day but was told that other individuals had voted who were not in attendance and that they had to consider those votes.
That’s despite the fact that parents were notified that it was required to be an in-person vote, Smith-Rouse said.
“We say we want to be an inclusive district and are treating inclusivity as an afterthought,” Smith-Rouse said.
The Boone County School Board didn’t address Smith-Rouse’s statements during the meeting.