ST. CHARLES COUNTY — The Francis Howell School Board will discuss changes to an anti-racism resolution before allowing it to expire in the next few months.
Board president Adam Bertrand said Tuesday that “there may be support of a rewrite or modification†to the three-year-old “Resolution in Response to Racism and Discrimination,†in a message he posted to Facebook.
Bertrand’s statement followed a vote last week by the board to rescind all prior resolutions within 75 days, a decision that was met with community outcry and appeals for unity from school leaders.
A previous school board passed the anti-racism resolution in the summer of 2020 soon after thousands of protesters marched 3 miles down Mid Rivers Mall Drive in support of Black students following the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis. The protesters called for changes to Francis Howell’s curriculum, hiring practices and discipline policies they said discriminated against people of color.
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While it is unlikely that the resolution will stand as written, board members will work together and take community input “to move towards a draft (that) the majority of the current board could support,†Bertrand wrote.
Bertrand did not respond Tuesday to a request for comment.
The all-white school board has flipped to a conservative majority since passing the nonbinding resolution, which states in part, “We will promote racial healing, especially for our Black and brown students and families. We will no longer be silent. We are committed to creating an equitable and anti-racist system that honors and elevates all, but one that also specifically acknowledges the challenges faced by our Black and brown students and families.â€
At its July meeting, the board voted 5-2 to automatically rescind resolutions 75 days after “a majority of current Board of Education members were not signatories to the resolution or did not otherwise vote to adopt the resolution,†and remove them from school buildings and publications.
Amy Chance, whose daughter is a senior at Francis Howell North High School, said the vote “felt like an attack on students who are already marginalized.â€
Board members who voted in favor said the resolution was unnecessary and has not improved racial relations in the district.
“I do not feel the school district needs a resolution against every evil in society that we are against, such as racism,†said Randy Cook, who sponsored the policy to rescind the resolutions, in a statement before the vote.
Cook said the lack of definitions for terms including “systemic racism†and “equity†in the resolution leaves it open to interpretation and controversy.
“I believe the Board had the very best of intentions when they adopted this resolution, but carrying out the commitments made by prior Board members has many challenges,†he said.
Nearly 80% of Francis Howell’s 16,500 students are white. The district has a history of racial tension, most notably in 2013 when thousands protested the arrival of Black transfer students from unaccredited Normandy schools. Recently, an internal investigation of a civil rights complaint involving a Black student found violations of the district’s policy against discrimination, harassment and retaliation, Francis Howell compliance officer Will Vanderpool wrote in a letter to the family in July.
The St. Charles County branch of the NAACP released a statement calling the school board’s decision “a significant setback in our collective work to create an educational environment where every student is learning, seen, heard, and valued.â€
After the board meeting, Francis Howell Superintendent Kenneth Roumpos acknowledged in a letter to families that some are “frustrated and hurting†but that “moments like this can be opportunities for us to rally together, problem-solve, and learn from each other, ultimately making us a stronger community.â€
Roumpos wrote that he is committed to making all students and staff “from a variety of races, cultures, and diverse backgrounds feel welcome and valued.â€
The school board’s next meeting is Aug. 17.