Anchorage School Board President Margo Bellamy has responded to parents who have protested the ban of Dr. Ben Carson from the campuses of Anchorage schools when he is in Alaska this coming week.
In a letter that responded to protests of the policy, Bellamy wrote that if students want to hear from Dr. Ben Carson, one of the most admired Americans in our generation, they can do so off campus.
“Families and students who wish to meet Dr. Carson can do so at the Mt. View Boys & Girls Club on Monday, August 21, 3:45-4:30pm,” Bellamy advised critics. Through the efforts of local leaders, Carson has agreed to do a separate event, since he is not being allowed to take part in a school assembly at Mountain View Elementary School.
“It is regretful that so much misinformation is surrounding the superintendent’s decision to not host Dr. Carson in an ASD school on the third day of a new school year and on the day that we are launching a new districtwide initiative. Timing and focus on our students were the only considerations,” Bellamy wrote to inquiring constituents.
“While not consistent with your views, the decision, puts the needs of our students first and gives them the time and focus needed to successfully settle into a new school year and new school routines,” Bellamy told parents in her response letter.
Dr. Carson had been scheduled to speak at the worst-performing elementary school in the district, a campus filled with children who have upbringings not that dissimilar to his, until the superintendent learned of the assembly and overrode the decision.
Superintendent Jharrett Bryantt told the board last week that he would answer the question as to why he was banning Dr. Carson from the schools, but he’d do so in a “Board Connect,” which is a written report to the board that is done periodically. However, in his subsequent “Board Connect,” issued on Friday, he failed to even bring up the topic.
Dr. Carson is coming to Anchorage at the invitation of the Anchorage Republican Women’s Club, which is hosting him at an evening speaking event, arranged through the efforts of Gov. Mike Dunleavy. Those who want to hear Dr. Carson speak can get more information at this link.
