Guest Columnist Gary Van Dyke

According to former Roundup Jr/Sr High School principal Kenneth Larson, there are “concerns about students uncaring perspective regarding racism”, leading to two United States Army recruiters from the Billings office talking to seventh, eighth, and ninth grade students last month. In a February 13th email document obtained during a Freedom of Information Act request to the former principal, he further wrote to the high school staff and others that the two speakers were going to talk about “what minorities hear when someone makes a racial comment”.

On February 21st, six groups of students were summoned to the library to meet with two uniformed Army Sergeants- Barker and Muniz to discuss; according to Sgt. Barker, “racial slurs” that were being “thrown around” by students. School staff reported the officers were bringing “racial awareness” to the students; who had been accused of using racially insensitive verbiage, and reported “it’s a race thing” when questioned what the presentation was about.

Army officials reported the former school principal had contacted them to visit with the students, and had set the meeting up “one to three weeks” prior to the February presentation. Multiple Army personnel reported individual schools invite them in, and the Roundup “school reached out to us” regarding this presentation. Sergeant Barker, a self-described “six foot two African American” reported the former principal had reported there was a “big problem with racism” in the Roundup Public Schools, and requested the presentation for the students. The Sergeant reported the presentation helped the students as it “shaped them better”. Roundup Superintendent Josiah Mayfield confirmed former principal Larson had reached out to the military for the speakers with the school counselor “looped in” to the conversation.

Sergeants Barker and Muniz; along with others contacted in the Army recruitment office, reported all enlisted military personnel from E1 to E9’s receive training, called EEO or the Equal Employment Opportunity program and SHARP or Sexual Harassment/Assault Response and Prevention training. These trainings were described as workplace harassment training in the civil realm, and includes training specific to race, religion, orientation, and “stuff like that”, according to another Army member contacted. One of the Sergeants had given this type of talk “ten to fifteen times” before, and reported there was no set curriculum or handouts, and was “off the cuff”, but student questions guided the “tailored” discussion.

Roundup students were called in groups by grade, based on conversations and the schedule provided in the partially redacted email. According to the Sergeant, the discussion started with a riddle and questions about what students perceived was happening in the school. According to Sergeant Muniz, students reported there were words being used that were inappropriate. The librarian contacted said the discussion was to discuss the “N word” and “don’t use gay”, diversity, and to “be nice to each other”. One of the presenters reported other topics discussed during the meetings included “sexuality” including gender identity and “suicidal prevention”.

When questioned, school staff thought there “might be a flier”, but reported the discussion was only for the students when asked if the public could attend. School and Army officials reported that once assembled, students were notified by school personnel at the beginning of the discussion they could “opt out” of the discussion, but “one hundred percent” of the students attended with “great” response. It was reported the former principal, librarian, guidance counselor, multiple educators, and at one point the Superintendent attended the presentation. When asked, Superintendent Mayfield was “unaware” if parents had been notified of the program or its content, but said this was not a sensitive issue, and notification was not required. During this investigation it is noted no information was posted on the school’s web page, calendar, social media site, or the Roundup School District mobile application alerting parents to this presentation or content. Multiple parents contacted report they were unaware of the discussion or the racist situation that had been reported. Former Principal Larson was questioned about parents and guardians being notified or given the option to learn about the presentation, his reply was the school has “lots of presentations and assemblies” without parental awareness, and “that’s what we do”. He reported the presentation was about “cultural sensitivity” and reported it was to “appreciate culture” and about the “N word”, before hanging up.

The Montana Office of Public Instruction’s legal bureau reports schools are locally controlled, governed by the elected school board. The guidance for parental notification has been a national and statewide debate topic, increasing since the pandemic lead to mask mandates, remote learning, and questionable subject matters being taught in public schools. Further, the National School Boards Association controversial letter to the Biden administration lead to parents being labeled “domestic terrorists” for questioning mandates and challenging school boards. In Montana, the rules for parental input and notification of certain controversial subject matters are partially defined by Montana Code Annotated 20-7-120, in which “A parent, guardian, or other person who is responsible for the care of a child may refuse to allow the child to attend or withdraw the child from a course of instruction, a class period, an assembly, an organized school function, or instruction provided by the district through its staff or guests invited at the request of the district regarding human sexuality instruction”. The law has an expectation of “no less than 48 hours” notification for parents and guardians. Human sexuality is further defined as “human sexuality, including intimate relationships, human sexual anatomy, sexual reproduction, sexually transmitted infections, sexual acts, sexual orientation, gender identity, abstinence, contraception, or reproductive rights and responsibilities”.

In May 2021, Senate Bill SB 400 was passed which restricted “a governmental entities ability to interfere with parental rights”, including education. A letter that same month about racism and the hot button topic of critical race theory was sent from Superintendent of Public Instruction Elsie Arntzen to Attorney General Austin Knudsen asking for an opinion on the “legality of the federal education department’s proposal”. Attorney General Knudsen replied to the request with a 25-page legal opinion that, “CRT and ‘antiracism’ movements demonstrate that although ‘racism’ is widely understood and accepted as an epithet, it encompasses vastly different meanings for different people”, and asserted he would support the Office of Public Instruction and parents “with any complaints they may have about unlawful race-based discrimination in the public education system”.

In June 2021, General Mark Milley, the United States highest-ranking military officer, and chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, testified before a House Arms Services committee in-part about Critical Race Theory. In multiple sources, the General defended the study, and reported “I want to understand white rage”. The General was further questioned why Critical Race Theory was listed on a syllabus for the United States Military Academy or West Point, the Army’s training college for military cadets. He testified he wanted to have “some situational understanding about the country for which we are to defend”, and “I do think it is important, actually, for those of us in uniform to be open minded and be widely read”, when defending the Academy’s teachings.

During the current Montana legislative session, Senate Bill 337 proposed specified parental rights and “providing for parent involvement in education”, which covered a broad base of requirements including “a parent may learn about the course of study” and “review all curriculum”, and allowing for parental objection to “harmful”, or materials that “a parent identifies as offending the parent’s beliefs”. The bill failed to pass, but House Bill 676 passed the House of Representatives, and also supported parental rights and involvement in education, and added “parental rights are exclusively reserved to the parent of a child without obstruction or interference by a government entity”.

One of the Army sergeants interviewed reported he “would like to know as a parent” if sensitive topics were presented to his children prior to the discussion. It was reported there was a possibility about offering the presentation to the other grades, but nothing had been confirmed, and they wanted to “see how this presentation went”. The officer reported he would provide any upcoming school presentations to this author, and provided a cellular phone number for further inquiries. Parents contacted reported concerns with the presentation and topics, and questioned why the school district and personnel involved did not notify them beforehand. In a March 15th email and communications from the District Office, Superintendent Josiah Mayfield informed parents that “Mr. Larson will be on leave, and no longer serving as the principal for the Roundup High School for the duration of the school year”.