SPOKANE, Wash. — The East Valley School District is dismissing their high school and middle school students early over safety concerns regarding a protest on Friday.
According to a message from the Superintendent Brian Talbott, after news of an out-of-state group planning to protest at the intersection of Wellesley and Sullivan, the East Valley School District will let East Valley Middle School and East Valley High School students out 90 minutes earlier than their normal release on Oct. 11.
The Westboro Baptist Church organization, considered a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center, has shared on their website that they will be protesting at East Valley High School at the time identified by the district.
“There are times when, as superintendent, I must make decisions purely in the name of safety and security of our students and staff,” said Talbott. “Please know I have consulted with law enforcement, legal counsel and my teammates before arriving at this decision.”
The protest is expected to take place around the time school would normally get out, and the district has concerns over both the protestors and potential counter-protestors. The East Valley School District is asking students to avoid the likely emotional and intense protest.
“Though we cannot shield our students from all things, we can and will minimize the potential of physical, emotional, and/or mental harm, which we have decided to do by releasing 90 minutes early,” said Talbott.
According to the message, the protestors shared their schedule with local law enforcement and the school district expects everything to go back to normal after 3 p.m. Parents who want to keep their children home for the entire day are asked to let the school know and the school will excuse them.
East Valley High School’s home football game and “Junior Cheer” will continue as scheduled Friday afternoon.
