Community Meeting Covers Culbertson School Issues

Erin and Cody Rhodes hosted an informative meeting on Wednesday, Nov. 5, at the Culbertson Town Hall to discuss complaints against Culbertson School District staff and administration. The meeting lasted approximately an hour.

Rhodes told the Community News, “I feel the meeting went well and was very productive.” She said she thought attendance was affected by perceived “fear of retaliation.”

At the meeting, which was live streamed on Facebook, Rhodes said, “I called this meeting in order to hopefully help parents like myself and community members to better be able to address any concerns or issues that arise at the school and how we as parents and community members enact change when we find these problems.”

Rhodes went on to discuss her own experiences at the district, both as a substitute teacher and a parent of four students.

She detailed alleged incidents at the school involving her children, which she says included bullying behavior by a teacher and the presentation of materials she found objectionable by artists like Michelangelo, Botticelli, Leonardo da Vinci and Matisse. She also detailed objections to portions of the 1988 Ron Howard feature film Willow, which was shown in class.

Cody Rhodes said the meeting wasn’t intended as an attack on any district employees or community members. “This is to explain how this stuff works, the best we could figure out,” he said.

The pair went on to discuss specific policies related to the dress code and the use of hoodies, as well as detailed procedures and timelines for filing grievances and formal complaints. They also discussed Title IX policies and procedures for initiating a related investigation.

A number of audience members shared their personal frustrations with district policies and staff. At least 15 community members commented on the video, sharing their support for a petition calling for accountability at the district level.