Manassas City School Board approved a new LGBT proclamation condemning racism that will ensure students and staff will be treated equally.
On June 23, the Manassas City School Board presented the LGBT proclamation, which has been reviewed and approved annually since 2017, approving the document in a 7-0 vote.
The affirmation comes in light of recent protests and riots on May 29 and 30 that left businesses in and around the city damaged. School Board Chairman Sanford S. Williams placed the LGBT proclamation as the first item on the agenda. He then turned the spotlight to fellow school board member Lisa A. Stevens who read the proclamation aloud.
“Manassas is committed to creating an inclusive, safe, caring, and challenging learning environment reviewed through an equity lens…Be it further proclaimed that the Manassas City School Board urges all to respect and honor our diverse community,” said Stevens.
Williams thanked Stevens and fellow school board member Suzanne W. Seaberg for working on the proclamation with him. Williams then continued on to other items on the agenda, some of which dealt with anti-discrimination and racism.
“Racism and hate have no place in our schools or our society…We must protect the constitutional rights of every person who lives, works, and learns in our community…Let it be resolved that we members of the Manassas City School Board stands steadfast in our commitment to foster an inclusive, educational environment where every student, teacher, support, professional, parent, and community member is treated with dignity and respect.
School Board member Scott M. Albrecht called for a vote on the matter to for the record.
The Manassas City School Board’s efforts to affirm an LGBT policy comes as school officials in Stafford County spent more than a year working on a policy to address LGBT students after a transgender student was not allowed to use boy’s or girl’s locker room during an active shooter drill in late 2018 at Stafford Middle School.
