Emails reveal more details about controversial Caldwell School Board meeting

CALDWELL, Idaho — A crisis in the classroom taking place in Caldwell. A recent school board meeting abruptly ended following a draft of a potential policy that would create rights and protections for students regardless of their sexual orientation.

People filled the board room to capacity. Many others standing outside. Senator Chris Trakel spoke out against the policy saying board members would be putting all students at risk.

The meeting was adjourned after a 15-minute recess that resulted in chaos. CBS2 has made several attempts to speak with board members about the proposal. No one has wanted to go on camera.

The latest response we received yesterday Vice-chair Travis Manning said, “it would be inappropriate for the board to opine on this issue within individual interviews as that would be deliberating on an issue outside of the board room and create open meeting issues.” He referred us to the district’s public information officer on the matter.

Emails obtained by CBS2 show an Administrative Assistant requesting to have an officer present at the January 9th board meeting. This request was made on December 16th. In the email to the Police, the assistant says – “Senator Trakel may be in attendance and has made some comments on social media that we feel warrant an officer at the meeting.” In another email obtained by CBS2, this time from Police Chief Rex Ingram sent after the board meeting abruptly ended. He says in part, “moving forward, the board needs to be more tolerant of expected crowd behavior."

He continues, “it’s better to let folks talk for the allotted time instead of cutting them off, especially when they have people waiting for them outside.” Trustee Travis Manning responded in part to the Chief’s email saying, "the regular board meeting was not always peaceful and the audience clapped and cheered and asked questions of the board."

He said, "Trakel faced the audience and did not address the board, something the board explained everyone needed to do." He also replied to the Chief’s comment about being more tolerant of expected crowd behavior He said, “no. the audience needs to follow board protocols.”

CBS also obtained an email from Superintendent Doctor Shalene French. This email, written to colleagues after the meeting says in part,

It was disappointing to see some attending refused to follow the rules, which in part prevented others from sharing their thoughts with the board.

The superintendent says she will be working with the board chair and trustees to identify the next steps in gathering feedback on this policy.

“The mission of the Caldwell Police Department is to preserve peace and safety while pursuing justice with compassion and respect, to guard the life, property, and constitutional rights of all, to encourage individual responsibility, and to promote community involvement. The Department will strive to achieve our mission by fostering a culture that is consistent with community values, enforcing the laws with the highest level of professionalism and accountability, and provide assistance at every opportunity.

The Caldwell Police Department is committed to ensuring everyone is safe, no matter their position on political matters, race, ethnicity, gender, etc. Since the meeting referenced in this story, the Police Department and the Caldwell School District have communicated their respective expectations with one another. This Department will ensure that if it is made aware of any public safety concerns involving any school in the City of Caldwell, or at any future Caldwell School Board meetings, it will respond and deploy resources accordingly. Conversely, the Department will not unnecessarily deploy personnel to monitor a situation or gathering that does not pose a risk to public safety,” said Rex Ingram, Caldwell Chief of Police.

CBS2 reached out again Thursday to Caldwell schools – both the board and the Superintendent.

We offered to let them go on camera and address the situation at the school district. We have not heard back from our requests.

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