Tuesday, July 05, 2005

Anti-Gay Groups Regret Agreement, Want to Sue Again

This is incredible. It is really slap-yourself-in-the-forehead unbelievable.

The Montgomery County Public Schools were sued this spring by two groups, known by the acronyms CRC and PFOX. They won the suit and the school district cancelled the new sex-ed curriculum for the rest of the year. Then they disbanded the advisory committee. They announced that the controversial teachers' background materials would not be used. They threw out the new curriculum and announced they would start over again.

Then lawyers from the two sides, that is, the school district and the two groups, got together and wrote up an agreement. It was very carefully negotiated, neither side got everything they wanted, but it came out ok. Read the agreement HERE. We didn't have a problem with it, except it didn't seem cool to pay the lawyers who had sued. CRC and PFOX seemed to get what they wanted, and we were glad to start moving forward again.

It appears that those groups thought they had agreed to take control of the process of developing a new curriculum. The agreement is very clear, and it does guarantee each of the groups membership on the new citizens committee, and it does promise to meet certain requirements that the groups specified.

But it does not say they get to put whoever they want on the committee. And it does not say that some other groups, like, uh, teachthefacts.org, can't be on the committee, too.

This morning's Washington Times has the most amazing article: Schools incite feud with sex-ed advisers.

First of all, I would be remiss if I didn't point out that this is yet another biased Times headline. The "schools" didn't incite anything. Their lawyers negotiated with the other guys' lawyers, and they came to an agreement.

And now the other guys don't like the agreement they signed.
Citizens groups are feuding with Montgomery County Public Schools officials over how to appoint members to an advisory panel that will help create a new sex-education curriculum.

The groups -- Parents and Friends of Ex-Gays and Gays (PFOX) and Citizens for a Responsible Curriculum (CRC) -- have each nominated one person to represent their interests on the panel.

But the schools' attorney has told the groups that they must submit a list of three nominees, and the school board will pick whom it wants. A resolution drafted by board President Patricia O'Neil, a Democrat, and scheduled for a vote tomorrow includes the provision.

PFOX and CRC are threatening to go back to court, after having signed an agreement with schools officials last week that ended the groups' previous lawsuit against the school system and guaranteed them two seats on the 15-member panel. Such a move could further delay the creation and implementation of the county's sex-education course.

Look, several posts below this one we went through the agreement and the CRC/PFLAG whining about it. It simply does not say they can put just anybody on the committee. Their lawyers wrote the agreement, we assume. How can they now complain that they don't like what it says?

Here's what one of their out-of-town Liberty Counsel lawyers said:
In her letter, Ms. Lindevaldsen said PFOX and CRC need to "place individuals on the [citizens advisory committee] who are well-versed in the subject matter and willing to speak out on the issue even though they are likely to be offering a viewpoint not accepted by the majority of the CAC members."

"We insisted on language giving our clients control over who would fill those two seats," she wrote.

OK, great, so they insisted, they got the language. Here is what the agreement says:
MCPS agrees that the newly-constituted CAC, for the term during which the consultation on the Revisions contemplated by the Board’s May 23, 2005 resolution will occur, will include a maximum of 15 members and will include one representative of PFOX and one representative of CRC, to be selected by the Board in accordance with Section C(2)(a)(3) of Board Policy BMA, provided such representatives are Montgomery County residents and are otherwise qualified and able to serve on the committee. PFOX and CRC will inform the Board of their nominees in writing by July 1, 2005.

They signed it, they knew what it said. It says they will be selected by the Board. It says the selection will follow MCPS policy. It says the groups will submit "nominees." It says they have to be qualified.

These groups represent a tiny minority of Montgomery County residents, and they want to control this whole process. They disrupted the whole thing by taking the schools to court, and now they're threatening to do it again, after signing a negotiated agreement.

I have only one favor to ask of the school district, pretty-please. If these nuts sue again, please send a real lawyer to court this time, OK? Maybe they could start preparing, like, now, not at the last minute. This just means too much to all of us.

6 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

Oh yeah. They are so unhappy about what they agreed to last week, based on the advice of their *pro bono* yet-costing-$36,000.00-in-MCPS-funds legal team that they are threatening to sue again if they are forced to follow the same rules all the rest of the groups who want a seat on the new CAC must follow. Can't have that! PFOX and CRC have God on their side so they deserve "special" rights, right?

Newsflash! The lawsuit was settled based on the best negotiations MCPS tax payer money could buy...for both sides. CRC/PFOX got their 2 seats at the table on a nearly half-sized CAC. All they have to do is follow the same rules as all other groups that want a seat at that same table. They should be grateful and count their blessings.

But no! Not the Crybabies R'us Corps. They want a seat at the table without having to follow the same rules as everybody else, and they do not care one iota about how many free or reduced lunches don't get served to needy MCPS kids. All that matters to the CRC is lording their status as lawsuit instigators over the BOE and all that matters to PFOX is that gays be persuaded to live in the closet. What a crock!

They whine, "Don't tell our kids the truth that homosexuals exist because it might upset the delicate balance inside their tender little minds and turn them into homosexuals." They cry, "Don't tell our kids how to protect themselves because we'd rather they suffer all the worst possible outcomes if they do not maintain their virginity until monogamous marriage." These people are the most immoral bunch ever. They are willing to martyr all of our children for their religious beliefs!

Go ahead! Sue MCPS again! I'm sure your fellow MC citizens will be ever so happy to dig up tax dollars to settle your next delusional hissy fit.

Aunt Bea

July 05, 2005 11:41 AM  
Anonymous Alex K. said...

MCPS needs to beat these pricks down in court and then force THEM to pay for ALL of the expenses.

And these pricks want to circumvent a democratic process to put whomever they choose on the board.

Is that un-American or what?

These guys won't stop crying "foul play" at everything.

Can someone please shut them all up?

As for tolerance, one should be tolerant toward those who deserve it.

As far as I am concern, a majority of these biggoted pricks DO NOT deserve any respect or tolerance.

Let us take the Malcolm X approach to all of this.

And let us also remember how the first speaker at the last meeting played the race card.

July 05, 2005 12:01 PM  
Blogger Kay2898 said...

John Garza himself signed the agreement on behalf of CRC.

Sour grapes it seems as somehow these two groups thought they would now be running the show based on what the agreement does not say.

Here is what one John Garza said AFTER HE JUST SIGNED THE AGREEMENT ONLY HOURS BEFORE LAST BOE MEETING ON JUNE 27:


John Garza, PFOX & CRC attorney and CRC Vice President (BOE statements): The agreement between the Board of Education and the Citizens for a Responsible Curriculum and Parents and Friends of Ex-Gays and Gays is historic and unprecedented. Never before have parents been able to stop implementation of a new curriculum. Never before has a school board fallen prey to this extent to special interest groups bent on sexualizing our children and espousing intolerance toward certain religious sects.

It was our goal one to stop the curriculum, two disband the citizens advisory committee, and three convince Dr. Weast and the members of the Board to eliminate all discrimination in future curricula. Having achieved goals one and two, we turn our attention to goal three.

The Reverend Martin Luther King said quote we must first love those who we would change. We will now lovingly help develop a curriculum that is not offensive to all.

We trust Dr. Weast and the Board of Education have the desire, intelligence, and ability to create a new curriculum that is lawful, non-offensive, and one which will lead to future harmony among all the parties. Therefore, as Vice President of the CRC and attorney for both the CRC and PFOX, and on behalf of the Board of Directors of the CRC and the Board of Directors of PFOX, and on behalf of the thousands and thousands of supporters in Montgomery County of both CRC and PFOX and all like-minded children, parents, teachers, and citizens, I have only one thing to say to each of you. We love you. Please allow us to be friends. Send us a curriculum that's not offensive. Thank you.


Too bad is all I say now.I guess this now means Recall no longer loves BOE and no longer wants to be friends.

With friends like Recall and PFOX who needs enemies?

Kay R

July 05, 2005 1:00 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Jim

I agree with you about the headline. It is biased, and it does not accurately represent the article. I am trying to find out who wrote it and filing a complaint with my superiors.

Jon Ward

July 05, 2005 4:36 PM  
Blogger JimK said...

Yeah, it's funny in newspapers that reporters don't even know what the headline's going to be, but they take the blame for it. Since a lot of people never read past the headline, it can have more effect on opinion than the story itself.

Jim

July 05, 2005 5:15 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

There are at least two things wrong with that Washington Times title.

#1. You are right. MCPS didn't "incite" anything. The lawyers on both sides negotiated the settlement and have only themselves to blame if they don't like what they agreed to now.

#2. CRC and PFOX are not "sex-ed advisers." CRC and PFOX are about as far from being sex ed advisers as John Garza is from loving the BOE.

Aunt Bea

July 05, 2005 6:21 PM  

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