A school district in Idaho has opened an investigation into allegations of racist incidents against students of color at both its middle school and high school, the Idaho Mountain Express reported today.
But despite a large number of complaints directed to the Blaine County School Board last week, school officials are approaching the controversy at a deliberate pace. Here’s how it is responding to the allegations of “ongoing” incidents at Wood River High School and Wood River Middle School:
“The allegations, which district officials would not elaborate on, prompted more than two dozen community members to write letters to the school board prior to its December meeting last week,” the newspaper reported. “Those letters outlined accusations of discrimination against Black and Latino students at the two schools.”
One of those letters alleged, “I am aware that there are ongoing racist and harmful incidents occurring at our schools, and that racist actions towards Black and brown students are sometimes unaddressed by Blaine County school staff—this is referring specifically to Wood River Middle School and Wood River High.”
That letter was quoted aloud by Keith Roark, school board chairman, according to the reporting. But while saying “steps were already being taken” before the citizen letters arrived, Roark suggested the process would be a cautious one.
“Some of the concerns here are very legitimate,” Roark said. “They are concerns that all of us share. There has been some misinformation that has been circulated. I don’t know where it originated, but I think it’s important for us to take this up and have a full report, so we know what the facts really are in these two schools.”
Whatever the racist incidents are, the board apparently will wait until its regular meeting next month to address them officially, the newspaper report stated. It did not address whether details would be revealed then.
According to the Mountain Express, the board stated that an assistant superintendent has a “close relationship” with a Boise human rights group that would be joining the investigation. “I just want the public to know that these matters are not going unaddressed,” Roark said.
