Blue Valley school board strips member’s vice president title after ‘anti-LGBTQ’ posts
The Blue Valley school board removed Jim McMullen as its vice president on Thursday morning as he faces mounting pressure to resign following his series of social media posts that many deem anti-LGBTQ and transphobic.
During a special meeting, the board voted 5-2 to strip McMullen of the title, with McMullen and member Kaety Bowers voting no. While there have been calls for the board to censure McMullen, members did not take that step Thursday. The board does not have the authority to remove a fellow member from the school board, and McMullen will remain on the board.
McMullen called the move “a modern enactment of “Arthur Miller’s ‘The Crucible,’” referring to the play about the Salem witch trials.
“Is it anti-LGBTQ to object to the sexualizing of young children across our entire culture and in social media? I reject the characterization wholeheartedly,” McMullen said. “We could just as well be here to censure the five members of the board who voted to retain pornographic books.”
The Blue Valley school board last month voted 5-2 to keep two LGBTQ-themed books on high school library shelves, rejecting a challenge from a parent concerned about sexual content.
Board president Patrick Hurley said that McMullen’s posts were not consistent with the district’s discrimination policy and mission statement, which emphasize inclusivity for all students. Board policy also states that members must “recognize and respect his/her position as a representative of all stakeholders and as a role model for them” and “model behavior consistent with expectations for the performance of all staff members.”
“We’re proud of the work we’ve done in Blue Valley to provide safe and inclusive environments for all students and staff,” Hurley said. “While board members have a right to express their views on both partisan and nonpartisan matters and to vote their own conscience on matters coming before the board of education, the board does not want to give the appearance that its views are represented by a board officer whose comments are inconsistent with the district’s stated mission.”
There was a line out the door before the meeting had started, and residents quickly packed the school board chambers. The majority were there in support of McMullen, some holding campaign signs or homemade signs that read, “Stop grooming kids” and “We the people support Jim.”
After the board voted to strip McMullen of the vice president position, a woman from the crowd shouted, “pedophile supporters.”
A smaller group wore shirts that read, “Protect trans kids” and held up rainbow signs.
Nearly 3,200 people have signed a Change.org petition calling for McMullen to be censured and step down from the board because of his social media posts. In response to a message from President Joe Biden last month marking the Transgender Day of Visibility, McMullen tweeted: “President embracing child abuse.”
In response to someone questioning that post, McMullen tweeted, from the account that identified himself as a Blue Valley school board member, “I’ll continue to speak out about the poison that is gender ideology.”
Someone later asked him on Twitter, “Should we also not say gay in schools?” And McMullen responded, “Of course we shouldn’t.”
McMullen has been criticized for his posts about transgender children and LGBTQ issues since before the November election, where he won by 51 votes.
At Thursday’s meeting, McMullen defended his views and argued that his statements and opinions are not anti-LGBTQ.
“I’ve been quite clear. I believe so called gender-affirming care and gender ideology harm kids. Those positions are pro-every kid, regardless of situation,” McMullen said.
McMullen said that he is from a generation that “didn’t judge or ostracize our friends who came out, including my oldest friend in the world and my college roommate. My father, who is my hero by the way.”
The Biden administration last month stated that transgender people have a constitutional right to gender-affirming health care and announced new policies to improve access to services for trans youth.
The American Academy of Pediatrics, American Medical Association and American Psychiatric Association support gender-affirming care, which for minors can include puberty blockers or hormone therapy, saying that it can improve the physical and mental health of transgender and gender-diverse people.
A series of proposed bills across the country, including Missouri and Kansas, recently have aimed at curbing the rights of LGBTQ people and transgender youth, including bills to criminalize gender-affirming care for minors and to prohibit transgender athletes from participating in girls sports.
Bowers, who campaigned along with McMullen as part of a slate of conservative candidates, defended McMullen on Thursday, arguing that differing opinions do not “equal hate.”
“One should ask is there a track record of cancel culture here in Blue Valley?” she asked.
But the majority of the board agreed that McMullen’s statements did not align with board policy and agreed he should be removed as vice president.
“There is a higher issue here. We’ve got to protect our kids,” board member Jodie Dietz said. “We’ve got to believe all means all. And I think Jim says ‘all means all,’ but I think some of the verbiage that he has used does not convey that information.”
Member Tom Mitchell agreed that McMullen’s actions did not fall in line with the expectations of board members. He said that he is saddened the issue created another “distraction” for students and staff and that it has divided the community.
Before the November election, McMullen posted on social media, “There are no 8 year old transgender kids.” He also shared an ABC News article about a mother of a transgender child asking President Joe Biden what he would do to protect LGBTQ rights. McMullen wrote, “ABC promoting a child abuser.”
He also has faced criticism for other social media posts, including ones that called social-emotional learning “drivel” and questioned the promotion of equity in schools.
This story was originally published April 28, 2022 at 9:53 AM.
