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| Police escorted a student's mother from the premises of Ione Junior High School Monday morning after an argument in the principal's office. |
| Photo by: Jerry Budrick |
About 30 minutes later, Sergent was sitting in the school office waiting for the police to arrive and escort her off the premises.
Two weeks after Proposition 8 was narrowly approved by California voters and overwhelmingly backed in Amador County, the fiery confrontation at Ione Junior High School has put parental rights and the issue of tolerance center stage.
At the heart of the conflict is a disputed account of what did and did not happen inside an eighth grade computer science class. Sergent's daughter claims that, for two weeks, her instructor has been espousing unsolicited views on race and sexuality, and taking a critical stance toward students that didn't share her progressive beliefs. School and district officials paint a very different picture, one of a student with a history of behavioral problems and a mother who has been confrontational with school staff in the past.
"In 35 years, I've never had to contact the police to get a parent off the campus," said Dr. Bill Murray, principal of Ione Junior High. That's all he would share with the Ledger Dispatch, as he was unauthorized to talk abut the incident.
On Wednesday, Sergent's husband Steve brought the couple's complaints to the Amador County Unified School District Board of Trustees meeting. During public comment, he accused the teacher of calling his daughter a "racist" because she did not support Barack Obama, and lecturing her privately about her position on same-sex marriage.
Board President Mary Walser asked him to fill out and submit a complaint form.
Things had come to a head Nov. 5, when Sergent said her daughter and some fellow students approached Murray about their concerns. Sergent said they were told to deal with it themselves.
"It's possible the kids are blowing it out of proportion (but) I don't think so. I honestly don't think so," she said. "I'm willing to hear the other side, but to just not deal with it at all?"
According to education officials who spoke to the Ledger Dispatch on the condition of anonymity, it wasn't the instructor who brought up Proposition 8 but Sergent's daughter. According to their account, Sergent's daughter asked her teacher how she voted on the controversial measure banning same-gender marriage. After the teacher declined to answer, Sergent's daughter questioned why African Americans were crying over Obama's election as the nation's first president of color. They said the teacher then told Sergent's daughter she needed to be more tolerant.
Five days later, Sergent was in Murray's office, raising her voice and calling the principal a "spineless liar."
Sergent acknowledged things had got a little heated inside the principal's office, but maintained she was just looking for a resolution to her concerns.
The police were called and Sergent was escorted from campus, though she wasn't placed under arrest. According to the same sources, the Ione Police Department did report Sergent to her employer, however, for disturbing the peace at the junior high school and for identifying herself as an officer when she was off duty and out of uniform.
Police Chief Michael Johnson said officers handle those incidents on a case by case basis. Identifying oneself as an officer of the law becomes inappropriate, he said, when it's done to curry favor or exert influence. A distinction is also made between being a police officer and a correctional officer.
He was looking into the account that she had been reported to the prison, but wasn't available before deadline. Sergent and her daughter missed a follow-up telephone interview with the Ledger Dispatch.
District Superintendent Dick Glock was unable to comment on student disciplinary matters.
Helen Bonner contributed to this report.
| Raheem Hosseini |