Thursday September 15, 2022
By Linda Vanderwerf
Willmar school officials say they don't have any pride flags in elementary schools, but a concerned parent said at Monday's Willmar School Board meeting that he believes he has seen them.
While Willmar Public Schools says it does not have pride flags displayed at an elementary school, concerned parents say they have seen them.West Central Tribune file photo
WILLMAR — A group of parents attended the Willmar School Board meeting to talk about their concern about LGBTQ pride flags displayed in school buildings.
Abdiweli Yusuf, a parent, spoke for a group of about a dozen Somali-American parents who were at the meeting late Monday afternoon.
Yusuf told the board they were concerned about banners in elementary schools that appear to be pride flags.
School officials said Tuesday there are no pride flags in those schools.
They are not against anyone, Yusuf said, but they don’t want their young children seeing such symbols in elementary schools or taught about sexuality.
“We don’t want our kids to see this,” he said.
Yusuf asked for a discussion at a board meeting, because the group of parents didn’t feel their concerns were being taken seriously. He said he was told the things he was concerned about were not pride flags.
Yusuf spoke at the end of the board meeting, during a time set aside for the public to comment on issues not related to the meeting’s agenda. The board has a standard practice of not commenting on issues brought up during public comments.
After the meeting, Superintendent Jeff Holm said he would contact Yusuf and try to set up a meeting.
In a statement Tuesday, Holm said, “We will be reaching out to the gentleman who spoke last night to see if we can better understand his concerns. He has not yet met with me to help me understand the scope of the issue.”
Holm said he had spoken to the principal of the school mentioned and was assured there were no pride flags in the building.
The school district has a policy regulating the display or distribution of materials not sponsored by the school district, Holm said.
The policy says students and staff have a right to distribute such materials with some restrictions.
The distribution must be in a reasonable time and place, so it doesn’t disrupt the school day. It must not be obscene, libelous or advocate violence. The content must not cause disruption to the school day.
Students or staff who want to distribute such material must submit a copy of the material at least 48 hours in advance, to allow time for the district administrators to make a decision. Failure to follow the policy can result in disciplinary action.