Commissioners Meeting Thursday With AG Rokita Moved
Posted
David Slone-dslone@timesuniononline.com
Due to a “tremendous” amount of interest in the Kosciusko County Commissioners’ special meeting with Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita on his “Parents’ Bill of Rights,” the location for it has been moved.
The session will be at 5 p.m. Thursday at the Winona Lake Heritage Room.
According to a news release from county attorney Ed Ormsby on behalf of the commissioners, “We have had tremendous interest expressed for our meeting with Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita, which is focused on his office’s publication, ‘Parents’ Bill of Rights.’ It is helping Hoosier parents understand their legal right to exercise their voice in their children’s education and other matters.”
The release refers parents to see https://content.govdelivery.com/attachments/INAG/2021/06/23/file_attachments/1861340/Parents%20Bill%20of%20Rights.pdf
In addition to parents, students and teachers, this topic and gathering offers every business, employee and taxpayer in the county a chance to learn from each other, and therefore, “it’s entirely appropriate for the county executive branch to understand the community’s perspective as the board executes its duties on behalf of those constituencies,” the release states.
“This has been proven in the response the commissioners have received across the county so far. Based on that response, the commissioners believe that the 120-person capacity at the old courtroom will be far exceeded and also that the meeting will run well beyond the originally planned amount of time of one hour,” the release states.
“Therefore, in order to accommodate this communitywide learning session and ensure a conducive, less-formal learning environment, as well as to not interfere with the County Council meeting that begins at 6 p.m. in the old courtroom, the special Commissioners meeting scheduled for Thursday at 5 p.m. is cancelled.”
Instead, the commissioners, in their individual capacities, will host Rokita at this public learning session at 5 p.m. Thursday at the Winona Heritage Room, 901 Park Ave., Winona Lake, which has a capacity of approximately 1,200 people.
There will be ample time for the public to ask questions and express comments, concerns and personal experiences. All are welcome, the release concludes.
On June 22, Dr. Chris Magiera, a Republican who ran for election to the U.S. House to represent Indiana’s 3rd Congressional District, suggested to the commissioners to consider a resolution and ordinance prohibiting or banning the use of coerced teaching of critical race theory (CRT) to county employees and over the school system in Kosciusko County. Ormsby responded that the Commissioners were under review of a CRT proposed policy already and that Rokita was coming to Kosciusko to speak on the issue.
On June 30, it was announced that Rokita would be presenting testimony before the Commissioners at the July 8 special meeting in the old courtroom regarding critical race theory and Rokita’s “Parents’ Bill of Rights.”
