Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds recently met privately with dozens of people in the basement of an operations facility in a Marion park. The event wasn't listed on her official public schedule and members of the media who got wind of it and turned up were turned away. "Multiple elected officials were seen leaving the two-hour closed-door meeting," the Cedar Rapids Gazette reported.
What would prompt Iowa's Republican governor to go to a confab in a public works basement and not let the public know? Here's a guess: The meeting was intended to undermine a public school district — Linn-Mar — after its board voted to make accommodations for transgender students. A number of parents didn't like that students from seventh grade up would be referred to by their preferred gender pronouns and be able to use the bathrooms and locker rooms corresponding to their gender identities. Reynolds later told reporters that the parents "feel trapped," adding that, among other things, they feel "their values aren’t being represented at school."
Instead of advising them that a public school system is intended to welcome and accommodate everyone regardless of race, religion, income, sexual orientation and more, Reynolds was there to reassure the parents they could opt out of public school with taxpayer dollars following them if her school plan passes.
