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About Keizertimes. (Salem, Or.) 1979-current | View Entire Issue (June 18, 2021)
JUNE 18, 2021, KEIZERTIMES, PAGE A5 School board to consider 'Free Speech' zone BY MATT RAWLINGS Of the Keizertimes For the second consecutive month, a protest outside of the Salem-Keizer Public Schools (SKPS) district office provided notable disruption during a board meet- ing on Tuesday, June 15. Sounds of air horns and banging on the windows could be heard immediately as the meeting started, making it difficult for board members to effectively commu- nicate with one another. The raucous crowd caused board chair Satya Chandrigiri to make an agenda modification, proposing that the board consider providing a free speech zone in a location within the property and designate a no-trespassing zone — after appropriate notification to the public — to prevent disruption of meetings in the future. Chandrigiri cited the importance of the public to be able to listen to the delib- erations, as well as safety concerns as the reasons for the proposal. “Disrupting the business of the board is a violation of the public meeting law. You would do the same thing if this kind of thing happened inside the courtroom,” said SKPS attorney Paul Dakopolos. “You would be authorizing the security depart- ment to enforce a no-trespass zone so that the meeting wouldn’t be disrupted in the way it is being disrupted right now.” Board member Kathy Goss shared her displeasure with the protestors and said she didn’t want the board to pander to the protestors. “I guess I can’t help but feel like we are pandering to poor behavior by estab- lishing a different spot for poor behav- ior out in our parking lot,” Goss said. “I would vote for it around the building, but I wouldn’t vote for replacing it with some- thing that is going to continue to cause us problems.” Chandrigiri pushed back on Goss’s statement and talked about the impor- tance of members of the community hav- ing the opportunity to protest — as well as the potential ramifications if the board allowed protestors to continue to disrupt meetings. “We have to provide a free-speech zone where people can (protest). People do have a fundamental right to protest, and I am not in support of taking away that right,” Chandrigiri said. “If the glass breaks and a little child or adult ends up getting seriously injured, or if the glass breaks in the passion and emotion and they come inside, then we are talking about potential legal risks and so may other risks.” Dakopolos mentioned that the park- ing lot outside the building could serve as an adequate location for protestors, but SKPS chief operations officer Michael Wolfe said the district would have some work to do before deciding on a final potential location. “We will go through a thorough risk assessment and determine the best loca- tion, so that it’s less disruptive but still honors free speech,” Wolfe said. “We will do our due-diligence and make sure we have it in an appropriate space,” The resolution was eventually passed with a 5-2 vote, Paul Kyllo and Goss repre- sented the dissenting votes. In other business, the board elected Grace Caldwell to serve as the board’s new student advisor. Caldwell attends McKay High School and has spent the last year on the Salem-Keizer Student Equity/ Student Advisory Committee. This was the final meeting for current board members Goss, Kyllo, Sheronne Blasi and Jesse Lippold Peone, who will be replaced by Ashley Carson Cottingham, Karina Guzman Ortiz Osvaldo Avila and Maria Hinojos Pressey. Additionally, the board approved the LGBTQ+ pride proclamation for the month of June and approved the district’s $1.5 billion operation budget for the 2021- 22 school year — Marty Heyen and Kyllo represented the dissenting votes. brainfood Independence man arrested in alleged rape A man from Independence was show up in court for future proceedings. arrested on charges of rape, men- Keizer police responded acing, coercion, strangulation and to the report of a domes- unlawful use of a weapon in north tic disturbance at approxi- Keizer on Wednesday, June 9. mately 10 a.m. The suspect, Armando Rodarti The Marion County Gonzalez, 46, of Independence, District Attorney's office is was taken to Marion County jail pursuing all four charges, and released June 14. Gonzalez is according to online court prohibited from any contact with records the victim or their home and will Rodarti Gonzalez All of the alleged crimes be fined $10,000 if he does not are class C felonies. Cat of the Week Name: ZAYLA Age: 1 HISTORY: She is a black and white domestic short hair that used to be a stray. Zayla had kittens that have been adopted. PREFERRED HOME: This cat is affectionate towards people but currently doesn’t do well with other cats. She loves attention. WE HAVE MOVED >>> Our new location is 4157 Cherry Avenue, Keizer <<< 503-362-5611 crossword answers pg A24
