Homophobia causes 'crisis of morale' in Montana school system

Anti-LGBTQ+ sentiments are creating what’s being called a “crisis of morale” in the public schools in Frenchtown, Mont.

It started shortly after schools opened last fall, the Missoulian reports. A teacher at Frenchtown Intermediate School, which encompasses fourth and fifth grades, was conducting a “getting to know you” session when a student asked about the people in the teacher’s photo. She said one of them is her wife.

The teacher’s revelation led to requests by parents to transfer two students out of her class. The school board held two closed-door meetings to determine whether the children could be transferred, and the board ultimately allowed the move. The teacher's name has not been made public.

Since then, teachers and parents have been voicing concern about homophobia in the school system. The Frenchtown schools are becoming an unfriendly place for LGBTQ+ people, some say. Much of the criticism has been directed toward Shiloh Lucier, who chairs the school board.

During public comment sessions at board meetings, “one teacher described decisions being made by the board as ‘hasty and hostile’; a recently retired teacher said Lucier had created an ‘unsafe work environment’ where people could not speak out; and another district employee who had held multiple positions with the school system said she was ‘scared’ for her job, and no longer felt supported,” according to the Missoulian. She has often cut off comments at meetings.

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Jim Stanicar, president of the Frenchtown Education Association, the teachers’ union, read a statement at the November 21 meeting saying there was a “crisis of morale” in the district, mostly because of Lucier. The union gave a no-confidence vote to Lucier.

“Teachers are concerned that the rights of their colleagues in public forum and in their private lives are being attacked,” the statement said. “Many are concerned that an administrative team that is respected and viewed as an ally are themselves being harassed and attacked for simply doing the job they were hired to do. Some even worry about retribution for perceived personal slights.” Lucier interrupted him, saying the tone and topic were not appropriate for the forum.

Racquel Rausch, a parent in the district, told the Missoulian her elementary-age daughter has been harassed because the family supports LGBTQ+ people. “How is that kind of hate engulfing the school system at this early of an age?” Rausch said.

She has filed a discrimination complaint with the U.S. Department of Education and has started a petition calling for a policy that would make clear that it’s OK for students and staff to be open about their sexual orientation.

“Public education is for all. I want a safe place for my children to grow and learn,” she told the paper. “We need to look at what’s failing our children, because that’s what’s important, first and foremost — how can we build a better community and a school system that’s inclusive of all?”

Dallin Diehl, a gay man who graduated from Frenchtown High School in 2010, said it would have improved his experience greatly to have an out teacher. He never felt safe to come out in school.

“If I were to have seen a teacher speak about their same-sex partner, read a book with a queer character, or learn about the multitudes of queer people, it would have changed my life a lot,” he told the Missoulian.

The homophobia he’s heard expressed at meetings ”made me a mixture of embarrassed to call myself an alum of Frenchtown and heartbroken for this teacher and for the other queer people that are statistically here,” he added.