Lake School Board stalls on new rules affecting gay-straight club

[Baitball Blogger]

Eighth-grader Bayli Silberstein left Monday night's Lake County School Board meeting blinking back tears after board members voted 4-1 to table a final vote that could have allowed a proposed gay-straight club to form before the end of the school year.

Since November, Bayli, an openly bisexual 14-year-old, has been trying to start a Gay-Straight Alliance at Carver Middle School in Leesburg to combat bullying of her fellow gay classmates.

Monday night more than 350 people packed the Lake County meeting space where the School Board was slated to give a final OK on a rule to allow non-academic student clubs in secondary school. Board members already had voted 3-2 to tentatively allow the clubs but needed a second vote to finalize the policy.

But early in the evening, board members instead said they wanted to take more time to "workshop" the rules in light of a tweak in state law partially called for by School Board members Tod Howard and Bill Mathias. Both men opposed the middle school gay-straight group, suggesting that middle-school children were too young to be discussing gay-straight issues. Mathias recommended to table the issue and was joined by Howard, Chairwoman Kyleen Fischer and fellow board member Debbie Stivender.

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/breakingnews/os-gay-straight-aclu-final-vote-20130422,0,3296276.story

[dballance]

1. Typical Political Strategy - Delay Until the Public Interest Dies Down

Not surprising really. It's an oft-used strategy. Wait out the public by delaying then take the vote when the room isn't full of people. Also, in this case, they may be trying to wait out the kid leaving the school in question. But, of course she'll the kid will still probably be in the school district and try to start the same sort of club in Jr. High.

[Baitball Blogger]

2. Lake County.

Unfortunately, there are too many counties like it in Florida. You should have read the reader's comments.

[dballance]

3. I Lived in TN & FL. FL From North Of FLL is Really South GA.

I'd be afraid to read the comments. I'd also be afraid to be the student who brought this whole thing up and their family. I bet they're getting hate mail and death threats.

[Baitball Blogger]

5. She needs support. I speak from experience.

[joeybee12]

4. Cowards...knr