A proposed controversial resolution titled “In Recognition of the Essential Role and Needs of Young Men in Society,” was supposed to be brought to the San Rafael City Schools Board of Education by Vice-President Mark Koerner on Monday, March 10th.
The resolution was pulled from vote shortly before the meeting was to take place, but approximately 20 speakers from the San Rafael community shared strong opinions during the public comment portion of the meeting, and Koerner offered some rationale for his resolution, which he says is the second time he has brought this issue to the board’s attention. While this resolution may have been created with positive intentions in response to the growing movement to improve men’s mental health, the resolution many parents and teachers in the community deemed extremely ignorant and harmful.
The resolution addressed young men’s mental health, well-being, “needs,” and asked for the school board to recognize and support young men and acknowledge their contributions, and also criticized the use of the term “toxic masculinity” and suggested that male students were being told that women were responsible for “fixing” them.
At the meeting, Koerner stated that he had no ulterior motive and wished to create something inclusive and beneficial for all. He listed off data points for the lower rate of male college graduates compared with women and the increased isolation affecting teenage boys.
Morgan Agnew, President of the San Rafael Federation of Teachers, shared an official statement on the matter. “SRFT is profoundly disappointed that this resolution was brought forward without any apparent consultation with teachers, administrators, counselors, psychologists, wellness coordinators, or any of the other district employees who work with our young men,” Agnew read to the board and gathered audience. He went on to list the many men’s support programs in the high schools in the SRCS district, claiming that had the data from these programs and schools been acknowledged beforehand, the resolution would never have been proposed.
Zoe Bai, the parent of two children, a daughter at Sun Valley Elementary and a son at Trinity Preschool, spoke during public comment. According to Bai, language like that used in the proposed and pulled resolution “threaten[s] to divide our community, exhaust our community, and siphon all of your and all of our energy away from areas that are much more important.” Bai said, “We have seen similar situations in other school boards and school communities across the country in the past few years, and I’m scared that that is going to happen here.”
“The resolution put forth by Mark Koerner is insensitive at best and at worst driven by a personal or political agenda,” said Carmine Dow, a parent of two and the co-president of Sun Valley Elementary’s PTO. “Proposing a resolution that does not call for action is ineffective, wastes our resources, and appears to be a test to see if anyone is paying attention. I assure you that we are paying attention and we expect better.”
Not only were parents there to express their distaste for the proposed resolution, teachers also shaped up, along with members of local and regional media outlets. “The issue is not that it sought to uplift young men, the issue was that it disparaged women and erased our trans and non-gender conforming youth,” said Terra Linda High School teacher Melissa Millerick.
SFRT President Agnew pointed out that the timing of the discussion felt inappropriate. “To propose a resolution in recognition of men in the middle of women’s history month, and just two days after International Women’s Day, is at best incredibly tone-deaf,” he said. “SRFT supports all of our students.”
Koerner appeared to accept the community response and promised to address the language and details of his proposal and potentially reintroduce it on an undeclared date in the future.
