The board of a Damariscotta school embroiled in controversy over an attempt by staffers to transition the gender of a 13-year-old student without her parents’ permission issued a vague statement on Monday concerning the issue.
“The Board is aware that rumors and allegations have been published and republished on various social media platforms relating to this issue,” the statement from superintendent Lynsey Johnston and board chair Samuel Belknap II states.
“While it is unfortunate that some individuals have sought to use this issue to try and divide our community, as a Board, we are committed not only to following Maine law but also honoring our school’s core values, and focusing on treating each other with dignity and respect,” it states.
The statement does not address the allegations of Amber Lavigne, which have been reported on exclusively by The Maine Wire. The statement also does not dispute any of the facts reported by The Maine Wire.
Lavigne said at a school board meeting on Wednesday that a social worker at the school gave her 13-year-old daughter a breast binder without Lavigne’s knowledge or consent.
That binder was part of a social gender transition the young girl was encouraged to keep secret from her parents by 26-year-old social worker Sam Roy.
According to Great Salt Bay Community School’s publicly available school policies, school staff are prohibited from encouraging student’s to keep secrets.
School officials have declined multiple request for comment from The Maine Wire. They have not said whether Roy will continue in his role as a social worker for the school.
Classic obfuscation, misdirection, veiled threats. Safety concerns is a canard. This is not a community safety or political issue. This is a clinical issue. It is a school policy issue. Is it good practice for a counselor to treat Gender Dysphoria in a minor without the consent of her parents? Can a school knowingly and willingly hide a social transition to another sex from parents? The answer is no. If a child was showing signs of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder in school by constantly washing her hands would they provide her with extra time to wash her hands during classes and leave the parents out of it? Of course not.
Roy’s clinical supervisor must be engaged and appropriate action taken to protect this child. I assume that has already occurred.