KARNS CITY — Many community members attended the Karns City Area School District’s school board meeting to hear discussion on the possibility of drafting a resolution on the district’s stance on critical race theory (CRT).

Board members and Superintendent Eric Ritzert said the school currently does not teach critical race theory and does not plan to teach it in the future.

“The district is not promoting those types of curriculum. We have an open, honest dialogue about diversity and respect for others and (that) has gone on for years,” Ritzert said.

The topic was placed on the agenda after residents asked to see recent purchases of seventh- through 12th-grade language arts textbooks called “My Perspectives.” Zachary Scherer, a recent Karns City graduate attending the meeting, said he didn’t approve of some ideas presented in the 10th-grade textbook.

“If we can’t spend time to go through this book 100%, why did we even elect you?” he asked the board. “There should be no politics (pushed) in schools.”

The board considered the possibility of crafting a statement or resolution after Butler Area and Mars Area school districts policies.

Board President Josh Price said a resolution may not be necessary, as the board acts as gatekeepers to what curriculum is taught. A potential policy need only be a few sentences, he suggested. Ritzert said the board would continue to be in discussion about it.

“Since we’re not actively pursuing the teaching of CRT, it didn’t seem necessary to take any action at first,” he said.

Board members Tara Hackwelder and Ashley Summerville said a resolution, if pursued, would have to be approached with caution, as some higher level history courses explore minority narratives on slave trade.

“We have to include minority voices. We can’t limit victims’ voices,” Hackwelder said.

Summerville added that if a resolution were written, it should be worded differently from the CRT policy statements by Butler and Mars districts to be more precise.

“I don’t like the open verbiage (in statements) because I wouldn’t want a teacher to be afraid to teach something,” she said. “We’re kind of backing our teachers against the wall. We’re for teaching all parts of history, we want multiple angles so that kids can make their own decisions and see all sides of the issue.”

Board member Robert Bray said the public had a right to know where the board stands with a statement.

“Who put us here?” he asked. “(The people) did. They want to know, why don’t we ask them?”

Most community members in attendance, including Brian Garing, signed up to speak in favor of a policy against the teaching of critical race theory to be drawn up.

“I suggest you could make a resolution that if (CRT) is brought up again that (the board) would have to post about it and make the public aware so they can speak,” he said. “There needs to be something on paper that says we’ve talked it over and we’re not going to teach critical race theory, that’s just how I feel.”

Parent Ariel Venesky spoke to the board regarding her daughter, who is a minority at Karns City High School. She said a policy could really hinder teachers.

“My daughter has said to me that she wishes she had more Black literature, she wishes she learned more about the other side,” she said. “If we tie down the wrists on our teachers so they’re worried about teaching something from a Black scholar or former slave ... if we don’t have policy to teach both sides of the issue, we’re doing our kids a disservice.”

Venesky added that presenting all sides of history could help prevent racism, which her daughter has experienced in school.

“These are issues we need to see both sides of so that children have an understanding,” she said.

Ritzert said an average of 5% of the school district students are minorities.

“There’s not a lot of minority students. There’s definitely work to do in the school district,” he said. “We need to do what we can to make sure all students have a safe education.”