Community members spoke at the Hamilton County school board Thursday night in support of a petition calling for board member Rhonda Thurman, R-Hixson, to resign over statements she made about Hispanic students.
In an online posting in August, Thurman was quoted about the rising number of Hispanic students “who can speak little to no English.“
“It is mind-boggling to me the burden it puts on the schools, the teachers and the taxpayers,” she told The Chattanoogan website. “Teachers tell me they cannot give the attention they deserve to the English-speaking students because they have to devote so much time to try to help the Hispanic students catch up.”
Launched by Semillas, a grassroots organization working to provide resources for immigrants in Chattanooga, the change.org petition had nearly 1,200 signatures as of Thursday evening. “Semillas” is a Spanish word meaning “seeds.”
Though it is against board policy to address individual board members, speakers did cite Thurman’s use of the word “burden” directly.
“It’s no secret that our immigrant community in Chattanooga has tremendously grown and positively impacted and changed our city,” Moises Rodriguez Cruz, co-founder and field director of Semillas, told board members Thursday. Cruz said he is a product of Hamilton County Schools.
“Unfortunately, what hasn’t changed is that to this day, Latinx students and families are facing the exact same challenges that I faced 19 years ago. What hasn’t changed is that instead of being supportive, or listened to and, above all, met where they’re at, county officials instead choose to frame it as a burden.”
A former student, Amy Xiloj Cecilio, told the board how hard it was to accept how she looked as a Latina growing up.
“Hispanic students are powerful,” Cecilio said. “We are brilliant, talented, creative and above all, we are sensitive, smart and always watching. This is only the beginning.”
Thurman said she has no plans to resign.
“If they felt like they needed to get a petition against me, that’s fine,” Thurman said in an interview. “(They) did absolutely no good. I don’t know what they’re going to do with them. They didn’t have a problem with my comments, they had a problem with me saying it.”
Semillas announced the petition Monday and called for members of Hamilton County’s Latino community to attend Thursday’s board meeting in solidarity. After a media report about the petition, group members began receiving death threats, according to a Wednesday news release.
(READ MORE: Opinion: Critical decisions ahead to meet our growing Hispanic student population)
“We are frustrated, disappointed, but above all angry at the lack of proactive action from elected officials to reassure our community that we, just like everyone else, have a right to speak up, attend school board meetings and have a say in the education of our children,” the news release stated. “But safety comes first. Thus, we cannot in good, safe conscience, ask our Latinx community to mobilize to the school board meeting tomorrow. However, this does not mean we are backing down.”
The online petition, regardless of the number of signatories, would have no legal impact. Under Tennessee law, there is a separate process to recall an elected official from office.
School board members can be removed by registered voters who live within the geographic boundaries of the elected official’s district. A voter would have to file a recall petition with the county election commission and collect resident signatures. The number of signatures would have to amount to 66% of the votes cast in the most recent regular election.
The county election commission would then decide if the petition meets all requirements and is valid. If the commission determines it is, a recall election would be scheduled.
There is no provision for board members to vote another member out of office, Chairwoman Tiffanie Robinson, a political independent from Chattanooga, said by text.
Semillas’ petition makes three asks of the Hamilton County Board of Education:
— Creation of a task force to address issues facing the Latino community and to develop a plan to better support parents, students and educators countywide.
— An “immediate investment” in trauma therapists and translators for schools that require them.
— Update the school board’s code of ethics to prohibit “any kind of language, bullying or behavior from school board members that is any less respectful than the standard which students and educators are held to.”
Board member Marco Perez, a political independent from Signal Mountain, said he agreed a task force is a good idea.
Board member Jill Black, D-Lookout Mountain, also called on the administration to hire more multilingual counselors and therapists.
The percentage of English language learners attending Hamilton County Schools has nearly doubled since 2015, rising from 5% to 9.9% of the total student population, according to state data.
The number of Hispanic students has risen from 4,683 in 2015 to roughly 9,000.
Not all Hispanic students are English language learners. For example, in the 2020-21 academic year, there were 4,651 students with limited English proficiency and roughly 9,000 Hispanic students.
Contact Carmen Nesbitt at cnesbitt@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6327. Follow her on Twitter @carmen_nesbitt.