The school board should be there to help students. Not to work against us. There to support us, especially now when students are struggling.

The school board decided not to renew superintendent Heather Bohaty’s contract on Feb. 13, then reversed that decision a week later at a special school board meeting.

Bohaty’s contract is currently renewed, and the district needs to do what it can to keep her.

Bohaty has been the superintendent for a majority of my time in Derby public schools, since July of 2017. She has been in the district for much longer, almost 27 years.

I have seen her commitment to the students. 

She makes sure we are safe in our schools. She was there when times were tough during the pandemic.

When Covid-19 first hit, she made a plan for the 2020-2021 school year that made sure that students got back on track after COVID.

Often, our superintendent has been there for students by providing services that are crucial to a student’s success. Such as the Acellus classes, which were part of her 2017-2023 strategic plan and have helped struggling students graduate.

And yet the school board didn’t want to renew her contract. According to KWCH, Bohaty said in a statement that she was shocked by the decision stating she “had no indication of contract renewal concerns for myself or the assistant superintendents. We were surprised by last night’s vote.”

The school board voted to non-renew the two assistant superintendents’ contracts, as well. They have been in my classes and talked to my classmates. Had conversations with us. They sat in the English classes and helped the students fill out the IPS forms. 

While the school board has been to school to talk to students, it’s a select group of students, and not an open forum.

The school board says that they put our best interest forward, however, such decisions seem to be putting their own best interests forward. 

They passed the IFA Classroom Display Policy, which requires that all classrooms are neutral.   Let’s be honest. A pride flag isn’t going to turn anyone gay, one cross isn’t going to change my religion. Instead, seeing different view points and different people will help us be better people. Help us become better people and be more understanding.

Other decisions have been made that are against the students and seem to push the board members’ own ideologies.

For example, the board worked hard to take the word “diversity” out of the district’s strategic plan and its mission statement. That is definitely not what benefits students. We don’t want less diversity, we want to have the resources we need to succeed.

That decision showed the town that they weren’t focused on helping people of color in the school.

The school board needs to start thinking about the students first.