Ocean City school board firmly rejects latest challenge to state standards

OCEAN CITY — Three Board of Education members, elected last year as a slate in opposition to the state’s health education standards, tried but failed to get the board to reconsider the controversial new guidelines.

The board on Thursday twice rebuffed resolutions that would have reopened debate on the standards, with some among the majority saying to do so would be unnecessary and “nonsense.”

The board votes defeated the resolutions, the first of which would have rescinded the board’s previous vote accepting the state standards, while the second expressed the board’s opposition to the standards.

The resolutions were introduced by board member Robin Shaffer, who said members Catherine Panico and Liz Nicoletti were co-sponsors.

The three ran for the board as a slate last year, with opposition to the state standards playing a prominent role in their campaign.

They were the only three votes in favor of the resolutions, with nine members voting no, including members who had opposed the vote last summer accepting the standards. That was a 6-5 decision.

Members who voted no in the summer said Thursday it was past time for the district to move on.

“While the intention behind this resolution may or may not be genuine, it feels politically attention-grabbing, great for page views and clicks, but does nothing for our kids,” said Disston Vanderslice, one of the board members who originally voted against accepting the state standards.

Board members, and members of the public on both sides of the issue, said the extensive discussion in the community has been exhausting as well as unnecessarily divisive.

Since the summer, there have been competing rallies for parental rights and for LGBTQ acceptance and protection in Ocean City schools, and lengthy public comment periods before the Board of Education.

Neither resolution would have had any impact on how the controversial subject matter is presented in classrooms, both the district administration and the proponents said. That responsibility falls to Superintendent Matthew Friedman.

Looking forward, Cecilia Gallelli-Keyes said the board should be an example for students on how to work together even when there are disagreements.

“It’s time for us adults, us leaders, to get together and stop this nonsense,” she said. “We have to knock it off, start working to do what’s better for our kids.”

Several of the board members said the community should trust the teachers and school administrators to do what is best for the children, and pointed out that parents have the option to opt their children out of the lessons. So far, 11 have, members said Thursday.

The state comprehensive health and physical education standards cover a wide range of issues, from encouraging an active lifestyle to information on nutrition and conflict resolution. But the material on sexuality and gender identity drew widespread criticism, in Ocean City and throughout the state, with some critics arguing the material went too far.

While board members described the resolutions as political, Nicoletti suggested politics were already being brought into school districts. She said school curriculum has driven new interest in involvement in local school districts, after years in which no one ran for school boards, and that voters in Ocean City put her on the board.

“We’re bringing in all this stuff, SCL, CRT, which we’re not doing that, DEI — diversity, equity, inclusion — all these letters that have to do with our social well-being, and gosh, prayer would really help in those departments,” Nicoletti said.

Student centered learning, or SCL, gives students a greater say in what material will be covered in classrooms and how, while critical race theory, or CRT, is an academic examination into how racism goes beyond individual biases or beliefs, impacting legal, economic and cultural systems, although there are extensive disagreements about how it should be defined.

In some instances, the phrase has been used to refer to any inclusion of race in education, including in lessons covering segregation, slavery and the Civil Rights Movement in the United States. It has become a focus of conservative criticism of school districts throughout the country.

Before the votes, the school board accepted public comment. For more than an hour, people lined up to give their positions, including many who have spoken at several previous board meetings. Most opposed the resolutions, but some spoke in support.

Cricket Denton of Upper Township, a pastor, said prayer is allowed in schools, and students pray all the time. Organized prayer is not, she said.

“I’m assuming that when you’re talking about prayer, you’re talking about prayer to the Christian God. I just want to acknowledge that not everyone is Christian, and not everyone is praying to the same god,” she said.

Other speakers said education in sexuality protects children, including from potential sexual predators. Others said gay, bisexual and transgender students in the past did not have accurate information about sexuality, or even the language to describe their experiences.

“I suffered years of never knowing or loving myself for who I am,” said Joeigh Perella, of Vineland. “We should be seen and accepted for who we are. We should be believed when we speak up about who we are.”

She called for support of the state guidelines, saying the criticism can be heard as a “dog whistle” that some communities will not be accepted.

“I know that is not true for Ocean City, New Jersey, because you have always welcomed me into your community,” Perella said.

There were also opponents of the standards who spoke.

“Contrary to extremist proponents of the mandates, studies have clearly shown that pushing sex education to children as young as second grade can be very confusing and detrimental to their development,” said Dave Hayes of Ocean City, speaking in support of the resolutions.

Albert Weber said the state standards were being pushed on Ocean City from Trenton, without regard to local concerns.

“It’s really about whether the local groups have a say in education,” Weber said. “It’s just like the windmills that we’re going to be getting out in the ocean here, where home rule has been dissolved.”