Voting Resources
The Progressives Distinct Manipulation of San Antonio and its School Districts
by Sonja Harris on September 25, 2017 at 10:07 AM
You might wonder how the Progressives came to power in San Antonio. How can a conservative city like San Antonio allow this to happen? A city where the Catholic cathedral sits across the street from City Hall and Commissioners Court and where the Catholic Archdiocese is headquartered. Conservatives have a way of complaining out loud to each other and taking absolutely no action on the issue. That would be the first guess, but San Antonio has a history of apathy, bordering on total disengagement from reality.Parents have a direct responsibility to protect their children regardless of who the attacker is. What has come to light recently in the San Antonio Independent School District has caused a lot of commotion concerning the expanded SAISD nondiscrimination policy. https://v3.boardbook.org/Public/PublicItemDownload.aspx?ik=41065944
A policy under the guise of “Nondiscrimination” was voted and passed on by the SAISD on August 21, 2017 after a 17 year old student, Ruby Polanco, from the Young Women’s Leadership Academy spoke in front of the SAISD board in favor of including gender identity, gender expression, and sexual orientation in the SAISD Policy document. This nondiscrimination policy change impacts approximately 53,000 students in the district. She also provided a petition with 300 signatures of ‘people’ living somewhere in the United States and beyond, including Vita Wu from Spain, Hillary Knowles from Korea and Kate from Canada but NO parent living in the SAISD. This irresponsible SAISD board did not bother or care to investigate the signatures on the petition. This policy was implemented the following Monday without notice to or approval of parents in the district. The only agenda this SAISD board wanted was the ‘Progressive’ agenda and they did not care if it passed in an underhanded way.
Since this despicable deed was implemented, Texas Values a nonprofit organization dedicated to standing for faith, family, and freedom in Texas has taken the lead in trying to reverse this policy. On Monday, September 11 Texas Values held a news conference with speakers, Jonathan Saenz President of Texas Values, Pastor Charles Flowers of Faith Outreach Center of San Antonio and Allen Parker of the Justice Foundation all stating their reasons for not implementing this policy change. The SAISD board held a meeting later that day and 49 people testified both FOR and AGAINST the policy change.
On Monday, September 18 another meeting was held and 12 people testified AGAINST the policy change all asking for a reversal of the policy. No one testified FOR.
Before I write further, I want to impress upon the parents that reversing the policy can be done. According to Nicole Hudgens, Texas Values Policy Analyst, “Parents stopped the Fort Worth Policy, and Dripping Springs parents are still fighting this issue.” None of the SAISD parents were sent letters advising them that there would be a policy change and that their feedback was important and necessary in assessing their vote since this policy change would affect their children.
According to The Rivard Report, Polanco admitted that, ‘For many of her peers, their Hispanic homes and Catholic churches are not as supportive as they would hope. Things are changing, she said, but many are slow to understand the less visible non-conformities.’ She was quoted as saying, “It’s prevalent within the traditional Mexican community [to believe] that gay is bad, and it’s not real unless you’ve been that way since you were little.”
Of the 53,000 students in the SAISD 90.8%, or about 48,000 are Hispanic, 2%, or approximately 1,000, white, 6.4%, or just over 3,000, are black. The statistics reflect the dramatic change in ethnicity in San Antonio in the last few years. Polanco’s statement also points to the fact that if the parents had been notified the chances are the expanded policy would have failed.
Because this district is embedded in the older neighborhoods there is a strong possibility that these families are predominately Catholic. The more significant high schools in the district are Thomas Jefferson, Fox Tech, Sidney Lanier, Thomas Edison, and Luther Burbank. The Catholic churches in the district are St Ann’s, St Paul’s, St John’s, Little Flower Basilica and of course San Fernando Cathedral. There are also many Evangelical churches that abound in this district. It is important to note that while the Catholic parishes are not supporting her actions, silence from the pulpit is deafening.
San Antonio can continue to be passive or residents can rally against the injustice that is being forced on the students because of the conniving method used to pass this policy. Polanco spent approximately 6 months asking for signatures on line. How many working parents have time or even know that there was a petition to bring about this change. Certain people were privy to Polanco’s intentions as she went looking for support and answers. State Senator José Menéndez Democrat from San Antonio and not surprising SAISD Board President Patti Radle were two of the voices she heard prior to her testimony.
What is significant is the fact that Ruby attends an all-women’s school in the SAISD. She won’t be showering with boys just girls so personally she will not be affected by the policy change. What should matter to every parent who has a student playing sports in the district is how this policy may affect the athletic department.
Equality Texas has made Ruby their poster girl and so has the LGBTQIA! The headline could read, ‘How One Student Brought the LGBTQIA Agenda into SAISD.’ Texas Values warned Texans that this would happen IF the Texas Privacy Act did not pass. According to a statement in the very liberal Express News, Polanco is not stopping with her school district, no she is moving forward.“The Young Women’s Leadership Academy senior is contacting other school districts around the state and urging them to make the same changes.”
The 17 year old student was the perfect pawn for the LGBTQIA movement. Board president Radle’s remark to the student she had visited with prior to the August 21 SAISD meeting was, “Your leadership on this has been remarkable.” From my vantage point, there is no reason to elect a board when 17 year olds are now mandating policy in the schools. Radle participated with the most powerful LGBT voice in San Antonio the Esperanza Peace and Justice Center on a panel discussion of ‘Son Tus Niños También-Trans Kids Back to School’ on August 26.
Beware parents: Ruby is prowling for any weak school district in Texas!
IF you want to make a difference, contact the SAISD School Board Members to express your concern:
Ed Garza Former Mayor, graduate of Jefferson HS, member of St Paul’s
Trustee - District 7
[email protected]
Trustee - District 7
[email protected]
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