The Albemarle County School Board held its fourth public meeting of the year on Thursday, November 13. Even though the schedule covered a variety of school issues, the spotlight remained on the current political controversy at WAHS. To bring awareness to the board, this year’s student representative, Claire Curry, spoke at the meeting. Recently, Curry has noticed the spirit of WAHS being affected by the political division. “Western is known for being such a bright and positive school,” she said, “and I think it’s important that the board is aware of how this is affecting our students.”
The school board has had student representatives for the past four years, and this is the first meeting that Curry has attended. After a brief introduction, Curry brought up the potential division between the two sides of WAHS’s political spectrum and said, “both sides can see the growing divide that is breaking the bonds that many students hold so dearly.” She then went on to say that a student’s political preference should not dictate their friendships, relationships, or simple classmate interactions. However, Curry did acknowledge that politics will always be present in our schools, and that this subject is something that cannot fully be changed. On the other hand, she had established hopes and plans for the future. Her hopes for the future included “a better job of rekindling that connection and using our school’s strengths to keep a united Western community.” To close her speech, Curry then said that regardless of people’s beliefs, WAHS should remain a place where students can disagree without division and continue to engage with our community safely.
Following Curry’s statement, school board representative Allison Spillman acknowledged how Albemarle County’s policies affect each student and parent inside the community. In response to this, she proposed a motion requesting the superintendent’s office review and update policies and procedures regarding third-party speakers. Spillman stated that this review would “ensure both robust protections for freedom of speech and safe and inclusive learning environments.” The school board voted in favor of Spillman’s motion and promised a new policy before the start of the next school year.
