Activists came from far and wide to offer support for Scottsdale Unified School District’s controversial superintendent, Scott Menzel. Menzel is under fire for, among other things, comments he made about “white identity” being “problematic.”
Members of multiple activist groups filled the auditorium at Coronado High School. Among the largest group were students and associates of GLSEN (Gay, Lesbian & Straight Education Network), led by classroom teacher Laynee Langner, Cocopah Middle School’s Gender Sexuality Alliance (GSA) sponsor.
In a speech during the Call to the Public portion of the meeting, Langner informed the Governing Board in no uncertain terms that if they dared to terminate Menzel’s employment contract, many educators would leave the district with him, leaving children without assistance.
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“It’s no secret that there’s a teacher shortage in this state, and in this district, and I’m sure the Board considers teacher retention in their discussions, but if the Board is serious about considering sacking the captain,” said Langner in an aggressive tone, “you might find his loyal crew jumping ship at the next port. And truly what is this district without her educators?”
Langner’s sharp tone was characteristic of the sort of discourse that has shrouded the District since Menzel’s racist comments were uncovered.
In fact, shortly before the meeting, newly-elected Board member Carine Werner called for civility after an incident at her home, caused her family to be concerned enough for their safety that Phoenix police were contacted.
Werner asked the “District leaders, activists, and other stakeholders to stay committed to civil discourse and stand against physical violence as the District deals with recent controversies surrounding Superintendent Dr. Menzel.”
“Last week, the sanctity of my property was invaded, leaving my family and my pets at risk. The intruder left behind a substance that is currently being examined by the excellent staff of the Phoenix Police Department,” according to press release issued by Werner.
“I am certain that the incendiary rhetoric by some weighing-in, either in support or in opposition to, the controversial comments made by Dr. Menzel, has put all of us unnecessarily on heightened alert,” continued Werner.
According to Werner, “Despite alerting Superintendent Scott Menzel about this incident on Friday Feb 17th, he sent a letter to the board members on Sunday, Feb 19th stating that no threats had been made. This insensitive and premature act is unacceptable from an employee of our school board. My family and our community deserve better than this type of seemingly dismissive behavior.”
“What is fascinating to me is that they used to try to hide or whisper their rhetoric. They are not anymore,” said Shiry Sapir, a concerned mother and education activist. “They are putting on full display their Diversity, Equity and Inclusion mindset and it is too bad if you as a parent don’t like it. It was apparent from the orchestrated crowd and responses from educators in the audience that they believe their worldview is superior to that of parents. They are dismissive and ridiculing parents’ concerns. It is also indisputable that the district, led by Menzel, is putting in place policies that violate the parents’ bill of rights and further affirm that he believes children don’t belong to their parents. An example is the Gender support plan the district has labeled “confidential,” and was obtained through FOIA request. This is the epitome of wokeness and parental right violation, yet Menzel and the district apparatus don’t seem to see that. We the parent do.”
Menzel’s well-orchestrated effort to save his job began after a group of Arizona legislators called on the Scottsdale School District Governing Board to consider taking action against him for recently disclosed “hateful comments.”
State Senator John Kavanagh, along with Representatives Joseph Chaplik and Alexander Kolodin, who all represent Legislative District 3 that includes Scottsdale, penned an open letter to members of the Governing Board condemning Menzel for recently resurfaced “offensive and hateful comments he made in a 2019 interview.”
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In that interview, Menzel claimed “white identity” is “problematic” and argued that white people should feel “really, really uncomfortable.”
One Scottsdale community member, who asked to remain anonymous given the apparent attack on Werner said, “If Menzel wanted people to feel really uncomfortable, he has certainly succeeded.”
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