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McKeesport. Area High School, in a file photo from Aug. 17, 2017.
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McKeesport Area School District disputes allegations in black student union case

Lake Fong/Post-Gazette

McKeesport Area School District disputes allegations in black student union case

McKeesport Area School District officials on Tuesday again pushed back against allegations that they rejected a black student union club over its purported mission.

During a news conference at the school district’s offices, Superintendent Mark Holtzman described efforts to create the group as a political ploy by McKeesport mayoral candidate Fawn Walker-Montgomery.

The district would support the group if it believed that students — not outside parties — were directly behind the push, Mr. Holtzman said.

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This “was never about a black student union,” he said. “This was about outside control of a student group that we knew from the beginning was not appropriate or legal to do in our school system.”

David Templeton Health McKeesport. Area High School on Eden Park Blvd. photo taken on Thursday, August 17, 2017.(Lake Fong/Post-Gazette)
Matt McKinney
McKeesport Area School District allows creation of black student union after dispute

The district was sued earlier this month by the Pennsylvania American Civil Liberties Union on behalf of students who claimed that the district had denied them permission to form the club. The club would be open to all students. A hearing Monday in U.S. District Court was postponed as the sides work toward a resolution, court records show.

According to the lawsuit, students had tried for at least three months to create the club, which would promote the “cultural, social and academic needs” of students of color. Those efforts were “stymied at every turn” because Mr. Holtzman prefers that the group be called the McKeesport Student Union, with a focus on “creating fun activities for the student body,” the complaint says.

Mr. Holtzman disputed those claims. According to the group’s charter, the black student union was founded by the community organization Take Action Mon Valley, the district countered in court filings. The charter held that the club would have on its executive committee two non-student advisers — including a member of Penn State Greater Allegheny — who would vote on all decisions.

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Attorneys for the district contend that such a structure would violate federal law and board policy. 

Mr. Holtzman on Tuesday characterized the efforts as a way to publicize Ms. Walker-Montgomery’s candidacy and to provide a platform to promote the agendas of outside groups inside the school district, although he did not mention her by name.

“We want to do what’s best for our students under every circumstance, and to create a political platform for one candidate is not what we’re here for,” he said. “We’re here to do what’s best for kids.”

Ms. Walker-Montgomery, whose ninth-grade daughter is one of the group’s would-be founders, could not immediately be reached for comment.

McKeesport. Area High School, in a photo taken Aug. 17, 2017.
Matt McKinney
McKeesport Area School District working toward agreement with students after rejecting black student union

According to the complaint, students wanted to start the club because they were disappointed with what they described as the district’s failure to address instances of racial bias, including “racially insensitive” comments by teachers.

The lawsuit claims that the district failed to discipline a middle school teacher who told students that “black people benefited from being property during slavery.” Another, the lawsuit claims, repeatedly used physical aggression toward black students. 

It also cited what it described as a dearth of black teachers and state Department of Education data that appears to show disproportionate discipline toward students of color.

McKeesport Area High School offers at least 32 student clubs, according to its website. "Non-school persons may not direct, conduct, control, or regularly attend in school activities of this, or any, student groups," district spokeswoman Kristen James said in a statement on Monday.

Vic Walczak, legal director of the Pennsylvania ACLU, said in an email that his group “expects to be able to prove the allegations in the complaint if this case goes to trial.” 

“That said, our focus right now in discussions with [school district] lawyers is to get the district to approve the MBSU,” he said.

Matt McKinney: mmckinney@post-gazette.com, 412-263-1944, or on Twitter @mmckinne17.

First Published: April 23, 2019, 8:09 p.m.

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