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Board stands by transgender teacher
hiring EAGLESWOOD — The TV cameras and network news vans were nowhere in sight Monday evening at Eagleswood Elementary School. Also absent were the out-of-town activists who had made a special trip to the school last month, when questions about the gender identity of a teacher thrust this single-school district into the national spotlight. At that Feb. 27 meeting, the Board of Education refused to back down from its decision to hire substitute teacher Lily McBeth, who was once known as William but has undergone a sex change. On Monday, board President Stephen Boyd told an audience of about 25 that there was no plan to reverse that decision. But while the TV crews have faded from the scene, a sense of discomfort persists for some parents. "We're dealing with 4-year-olds. My 4-year-old gets upset when I can't find the right color sock," said parent Steve Formaratto.
"They want to overturn people's values," said parent Steve Bond, describing gay-rights activists who appeared at the previous meeting. "My son sleepwalks every night now," shouted one mother in the audience. School psychologist Joe Papetti was on hand to answer questions from parents. Papetti said it was important that school officials be prepared when students raise the transgender issue. Contacting parents when such situations arise should be the first step, he said. "I would rather avoid the subject totally with my 5-year-old," said parent Lisa Bond, who made a recent appearance on ABC-TV's "Good Morning America" to discuss the McBeth issue. Superintendent Deborah Snyder said that when the time comes for McBeth, 71, to enter the classroom, McBeth would not be left alone with students. Instead, another school official would be in the room to gauge how students react, she said. If McBeth is asked by students about her gender, McBeth is not to answer those questions, Snyder said. Awaiting the call McBeth, a father of three who was married for 33 years before a divorce, didn't attend Monday's meeting. "There's always going to be critics," she said from her Little Egg Harbor home. According to the American Civil Liberties Union, the law is on McBeth's side. In July 2001, the Appellate Division of state Superior Court determined that denying employment to a transgender person amounts to sexual discrimination. Boyd, the school board president, said it was the responsibility of elected officials to uphold the law. Nonetheless, Boyd acknowledged he was initially uncomfortable with the idea of a transgender teacher. But after meeting McBeth, those reservations began to subside. "It's a lot easier to demean someone if you don't know them," he said. "I felt it was something the kids could handle." McBeth, a retired medical marketing executive, began substitute teaching in the area about five years ago after moving to Little Egg Harbor. At the time, she was known to students as Mr. McBeth. McBeth since has reapplied to the Eagleswood district as Lily. Now, McBeth says she's waiting for a call from the school to return to the classroom. "Being a substitute teacher, you
never know. There's no predicting when you're going to get a call,"
she said.
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