The far right continues push this country towards more acts of violence, bigotry, and hatred. They want to keep this country divided for their own sick, and perverse need for money and power. I, myself, am not a part of the LGBTQ community, but my children all have friends, or others they know that have suffered from parents, and other children, all due to their minds being poisoned by falsehoods, and hatred towards something they often know little about. I don't need to be someone in the LGBTQ community to care about their suffering. I only wish that those that are hateful, and bigoted in this country would educate themselves, and look inward as to why they are so afraid of something that does not directly affect them. Our children need to be taught understanding, and that everyone deserves the right to live their lives free of fear. Teaching children that everyone should be treated with respect, and dignity shouldn't ever be a question. We may have come a long way towards the treatment of the LGBTQ community, but we still have so many miles to go.

Because too many innocent children continue to lose their lives because of overlooked negligence and abuse!

All child care workers are among our communities’ most valuable assets. They should, and must, be recognized equally for the herculean task of caring for children during the pandemic. Every child care slot has equal value in moving our economy forward. Larger providers should not be penalized because they are meeting the charge to open their doors to more children and families. The DCYF draft literature makes it clear that funds are available are for stabilizing child care businesses. An equitable distribution of all funds available will stabilize both small and large sites.

We need our future generation to be healthy. The obesity rates right now are sky-rocketing. The United States consumes the most fast food in the world. The life expectancy rate has gone way down due to obesity. 16% of young adults aged 18 to 24 eat out at least once weekly. Children see about 13 advertisements every single day while teens see about 16. Only 1 out of 10 food advertisements are about fruits or vegetables. Children who are exposed to advertisements for unhealthy food have a 30% higher likelihood of eating unhealthy food. To eat healthily, be sure to have vegetables, fruits, whole grains, fat-free or low-fat dairy products, and a variety of foods with protein. Dr.Mimi Tatlow-Golden, a Senior Lecturer in Developmental Psychology and Childhood, on the Safefood Podcast she said this about children and young people, "not only do they eat more after viewing ads immediately or in general in their lives, but they don’t compensate for that eating later on in the day, so they don’t sort of have an extra snack, and then eat less at dinner, they just eat a little bit more." References: https://supplements101.net/fast-food-statistic/, https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31329232 https://uconnruddcenter.org/research/food-marketing/#, https://www.obesityaction.org/community/article-library/food-marketing-to-children-a-wolf-in-sheeps-clothing/, https://health.gov/myhealthfinder/topics/health-conditions/diabetes/eat-healthy,https://www.safefood.net/Professional/Nutrition/Nutrition-podcasts/Marketing-of-unhealthy-food-to-children/Transcript-Marketing-unhealthy-food-to-children

The mask policies are working to limit the spread. In Ohio school districts where masks are optional, case rates are higher than in districts that require some masking, and we see better week-to-week trends in schools where everyone wears a mask. Most importantly, there have been fewer quarantines in schools where everyone wears a mask, helping us towards meeting the goal of keeping Ohio children in the classroom.

Let's put a end to body shaming by ending some of the unnecessary dress coding. Every person is built differently. Some things may fit bigger on some people while on others it may fit smaller. Unnecessary dress coding is causing self-esteem problems in many teenagers because they feel like their body isn’t enough because they may get dress coded for something that someone else didn’t get dress coded for when in reality no one is built the same. No one should have to feel like they are over or under weight because of how their clothes may fit & look on them. Wearing the same thing as someone else and looking different in it shouldn't get you singled out because yours shows your curves, form or fits differently and it should not be a reason to get dress coded. As long as everyone is covered it shouldn't matter how someones jeans, tights, shirts, etc covers the body. Also because of covid many parents and guardians are out of work and some students weren't able to return to school with new clothes this year and have to wear the same clothes from the past year so their clothes may fit tighter than they did the year before. Everyone doesn't have the same financial means to go shopping every time something fits a little tight so unnecessary dress coding is causing problems in many ways for these children. Body Shaming by dress coding needs to be stopped. Sign this petition in hopes for a change. Let's stop the body shaming now.

I am a parent of two students at Cushing Elementary (and two children who are future attendees of Cushing Elementary). Families in our neighborhood (along with families on First Parish and Country Way) use the path to access the high school sports complex and to walk to Cushing Elementary. We are too close to the school to quality for free busing, yet if the path didn't exist, our only way to walk to school puts young children on sidewalks within feet of busy roads. The path that connects Cedarwood/Utility to Aberdeen provides a safe way for residents to access the HS sports complex, Cushing school and provides shaded passage for walking and recreation. The path is a scenic wooded trail through wetlands and is an opportunity for residents to travel around Scituate by foot or by bike. Over the past several decades, the SHS cross country team has utilized this path for practices and for races. I've been told that the condition of the path is too poor for their continued use. The path is on town property and loosely maintained by the town of Scituate. It is plowed in the winter and mowed in fall and spring. Repaving this path ensures that children can safely walk and bike to school and older and younger residents alike can enjoy this route and move about town without walking along a main road. Please ask your friends and neighbors to support the reconstruction of this path.

I am a parent, friend, volunteer, and taxpayer like many of you. Our school's needs are our community's needs. Our teachers, students, and staff deserve better and USD 497 can do better. Join the community to do what we need to get things done.

CVS Health is a Fortune 4 Company and integrated into every aspect of the US Healthcare System. CVS Health is the parent company of CVS Pharmacy, Aetna, Caremark and many others according to their SEC filings. https://twitter.com/BATransAdvocate https://thehill.com/changing-america/respect/equality/558610-cvs-att-comcast-and-others-donated-to-anti-lgbtq https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/jun/14/corporations-anti-lgbtq-politicians-donations-study https://www.exposedbycmd.org/2021/04/02/the-pro-lgbtq-companies-that-helped-elect-arkansas-anti-trans-bill-sponsors/ https://www.exposedbycmd.org/2021/04/16/businesses-and-trade-groups-bankrolled-sponsors-of-texas-cruel-anti-trans-bill/ https://upriseri.com/the-women-project-v-cvs/

Dear Storm Lake Community School District Board and Superintendent: We, the concerned community members, teachers, and parents of Storm Lake Community School District urge the SLCSD school board to mandate masks for ALL people in Storm Lake Community School District buildings and crowded outdoor spaces, regardless of vaccination status for the following reasons: -The American Academy of Pediatrics and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommend UNIVERSAL masking in schools.(1) (2) -Since Iowa is a place of high coronavirus spread, as identified by the CDC (3), it is actually recommended that ALL people wear masks, regardless of vaccination status, in all indoor public settings as well as crowded outdoor settings. So, everyone should be masking, not just those at schools. -There are teachers who are unvaccinated AND refusing to wear a mask. These teachers are endangering up to hundreds of students daily, as well as the family members of those students. If you ask everyone to mask, it is much easier for people to know if someone is not complying. -Vaccinated people can get sick with Covid-19, and they can spread coronavirus at the same rate as unvaccinated people at the beginning of their illness according to the CDC: “For people infected with the Delta variant, similar amounts of viral genetic material have been found among both unvaccinated and fully vaccinated people. However, like prior variants, the amount of viral genetic material may go down faster in fully vaccinated people when compared to unvaccinated people. This means fully vaccinated people will likely spread the virus for less time than unvaccinated people.” (4) -Some staff, especially the vaccinated, are getting minor symptoms of illness consistent with the symptoms of Covid-19, but believe it is “just a cold”, so they are not getting tested. They continue to go to work, potentially infecting people with Covid-19. -Our district has been asking unvaccinated people to wear masks all school year, which means all children under the age of 12 should be masking. This is not what we are seeing; very few children are masking. We need more children masking to get this under control and to make school a safe place for all. Simply asking is not working. A mandate is what we need. -This month we have had two reported Covid-19 deaths in our county, the first reported deaths in BV County since April. (5) -Our healthcare providers in Storm Lake are urging children to wear masks in school. In an interview with local media, two local doctors noted that although we have beds at BVRMC, other ICUs are full enough that sometimes people have to wait to be transported for a higher level of care. If we mandate universal masking at our schools, that is a very real way to lessen the burden for our healthcare providers. (6) Furthermore, we request that the school district follow the other recommendations as outlined in the American Academy of Pediatrics’ 2021 school guidelines, including mental health support, and testing resources. We should be spreading the word that BV County Public Health has free tests through Test Iowa. We understand that many people have pandemic fatigue, and that some people would be upset by a mask mandate, but the board has said it stands by science. The board is doing a great job of supporting the cause to vaccinate. Public health officials are also recommending masking. We ask that the board would listen to science in all aspects of the pandemic, rather than picking and choosing. In the August board meeting, the school board said their hands were tied due to the mask mandate ban. Well, the board’s hands have been at least momentarily untied. Please do what is BEST, not what is easiest, for our community, and mandate masks for all people at Storm Lake Community School District. After a federal judge blocked the mask mandate ban on Monday, September 13th, the district sent out an email stating they were seeking legal council, leading us to believe there will not be a timely decision. Two Iowa school districts have already announced they will be enforcing a mask mandate starting Wednesday, September 15th. If they can do it, so can we. We ask for a mask mandate vote to be made at the regular school board meeting on Wednesday, September 15th. Taking additional time to make this decision could cost us more lives in our community. We don’t want to live the rest of our lives in masks. Somewhat soon, we are hopeful that vaccines will be available for children under 12, and hopefully then (or maybe even before then!) we will see cases decrease dramatically in our county, state, and country, and we can all move on with our lives! But, as long as we are legally able, and until deaths and hospitalizations of Covid-19 are no more common than those of influenza in a usual year, we ask that the Storm Lake Community School District mandate masks for all people in schools and outside where distancing of 6 feet is not being practiced. Sincerely, and with great concern, The people of Storm Lake Community School District 1. https://www.aap.org/en/news-room/news-releases/aap/2021/american-academy-of-pediatrics-updates-recommendations-for-opening-schools-in-fall-2021/ 2. https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/community/schools-childcare/k-12-guidance.html 3. https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#county-view 4. https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/variants/delta-variant.html 5. https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2021/us/buena-vista-iowa-covid-cases.html 6. https://www.stormlakepilottribune.com/story/2902601.html

51 of 204 School Districts in Oregon have outsourced their substitute teachers to staffing agencies. This also includes classified staff like bus drivers, janitors, instructional assistants and kitchen staff. When these substitutes work the required number of hours in the school they are NOT eligible for retirement benefits because the staffing agency is NOT considered the employer. The staffing agency does not provide the jobs and does not manage the work of these teachers and support staff. All the staffing agency does is perform a payroll function. Thousands of school staff licensed and non-licensed have lost retirement credits because of outsourcing. The staff agency fee paid by school districts more than pays for the retirement benefits. Also school districts have not accounted for the fact that most substitute teachers do not work enough hours to qualify for retirement benefits, yet they still pay the anywhere from 24-26% staffing fee on the base wage of the outsourced substitute teacher. In some cases the School District pre-pay the staffing agencies fee based on previous use of substitute teachers. This money paid is also leaving the State, as these staffing agencies are not local to Oregon. ORS 342.610 is the fundamental pay statute for all substitute teachers state-wide. Those substitute teachers working in Districts without outsourcing are eligible for retirement benefits. This has gone on too long. See also HB3130 during the regular 2021 Legislative Session. HB3130 v2.0 is in the works. Help Teachers, Help Outsourced Substitute Teachers, Help Outsourced Support Staff.

The confederacy's post war wing, The Grand Knights of the Ku Klux Klan (KKK) - and their endless acts of terrorism and oppression across GA and most other southern states - were re-constituted, based, expanded, and exported from Stone Mountain. While the state government today owns the mountain, memorial and surrounding land, it is the KKK who are historically credited as the driving force behind the site selection and construction for the memorial. In 2021, Stone Mountain continues its projection of the oppressive and menacing threat of the Confederate States of America, and its terrorist offspring the KKK, and ensures that both of these scars on history continue to live today. Stone Mountain and and its giant Confederate memorial - carved into the mountain's north face - are considered to be the most sacred site for white supremacists across the nation, regardless of which sect of hatred and oppression they subscribe to. Not only was the mountain and the association that runs its park owned and operated by the Klan until GA condemned the land in 1960, it is considered the place where the KKK was reborn in 1915 and then again in the early 1960s in regard to the rise of Dr King and the Civil Rights Movement. In fact, the memorial itself was championed by the uncompromisingly segregationist Governor Marvin Griffin and served as his direct response to the Supreme Court's 1954 ruling in Brown vs the Board of Education and the 1958 founding of the Civil Rights Movement. The haunting memorial's construction began in earnest in 1964, just as racial tensions rose in the south due to calls for equal rights. It was completed in 1972, 4 years after the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and shortly after the federal government awarded minorities many of the rights, including the right to vote, that the local ruling class of the Jim Crow south systematically denied them. Today it stands as a towering symbol of this Old Dixie repression, honoring and normalizing the brutally oppressive and soul crushing institution of slavery. Stone Mountain itself stands 1686 feet above sea water and summits 825 feet above the next highest point for hundreds of miles. At this height, the KKK's frequent giant cross burnings at its summit could be seen for miles, delivering the cold chill of terrorist oppression from the bright light of the Klansmen's flame. The carved memorial, the largest memorial to white supremacy standing anywhere in the world, is brutally carved 42 feet into the mountain's north face beginning 400 feet above its base, towering 90 feet tall and 190 feet long. Envisioned, constructed, and routinely engaged as the KKK's watchful eye of oppression, it continues to serve this task today providing daily reminders for GA's minority communities that Old Dixie, and its values, live to this day through its shrine on Stone Mountain. The time is now to be honest, as a nation, about where we are and where we have been. Its time to turn the page from Old Dixie and the defeated armies that surrendered to the Union so long ago. Its time to call the Confederacy what they were, traders and losers who ripped the country apart in an effort to preserve and expand the oppression and race based divisions of the Confederacy from sea to shining sea. We are calling upon the federal government to finally lead GA away from the anchor of its past and to the promise of tomorrow.