School Bullies on Salary

As a native Mississippian, I don't like to see my state end up in the national papers over some idiotic thing that a public official, paid with my tax dollars, has decided to do.

I saw it happen last year when Wesson officials risked a lawsuit because they didn't want to let Ceara Sturgis wear a tux in her yearbook picture. Great publicity for Copiah County superintendent Rickey Compton, who has now scored enough points with anti-gay activists to guarantee a bright political future, if he wants one. Not such a great idea from a civil liberties perspective, though--and he promoted himself at the expense of Sturgis, a brilliant young woman who didn't really plan on national celebrity status.

Now we're seeing it happen again as anti-gay administrators target 18-year-old Constance McMillen in Itawamba County. Superintendent Teresa McNeece has apparently decided that getting her own name in the paper as somebody who won't let students bring same-sex dates to the prom is well worth whatever a free speech lawsuit would cost. Who needs dropout prevention programs, anyway?

Here's a novel idea, folks: Do the jobs you're actually paid to do--which means supporting the kids in your district, not bullying them at state expense.

Related: How to Start a Gay/Straight Alliance at Your School