School board meeting again draws attention from opposite sides of mask, CRT debate
SOUTH SALT LAKE, Utah (KUTV) — A large group of people came out to the Granite School Board meeting on Tuesday night, but the fact that there wasn’t a big policy issue on the agenda had the district extra prepared.
Members of Black Lives Matter Utah and the Proud Boys were among the groups represented both inside and outside of Tuesday night’s meeting.
Each seat inside the board chamber had a 10-point public meeting decorum handout reminding people how to act civilly. The handout stressed refraining from personal attacks and insults or risk being removed from district grounds.
A board meeting back in May was disrupted by a group of people angry over masks and critical race theory, which resulted in 11 people being criminally charged.
A district spokesperson stated in part that “there are repercussions for these actions and the board was unable to conduct its business as a result of these disruptive criminal actions.”
Masks and critical race theory were not on the agenda on Tuesday, but were on the minds of the vast majority of the crowd.
Parent Lisa Davis, who was one of the three people allowed to speak during a brief public comment period, said “we will continue to fight for our children and future generations to have the most success.”
Rae Duckworth was another parent who addressed the board, saying “the Granite School District is very diverse, but this board does not reflect that.”
Each of the three speakers were allowed to talk for up to five minutes.
The board again heard arguments for and against CRT— even though it’s still not part of school curriculum.
Eric Hedin said, “I believe that America is good, some flaws maybe some mistakes have been made, but it is fundamentally good.”
There was criticism from the crowd about the board policy to only allow three people to talk when so many showed up.
It’s not required by law — but it’s common practice for the Granite school board to allow just three people to speak at meetings on things that are not part of the normal order of business, a spokesperson told 2News.
