Amid anti-LGBTQ student bills across US, Appleton just elected its first openly LGBTQ board member
APPLETON - Nick Ross doesn’t label themself as a “trailblazer” nor do they call their recent election to the Appleton school board historic.
Other people have used those words, Ross said, but their mindset is: “I helped open a door; let’s see how many people we can get through the door.”
Ross won one of the three open seats on the Appleton Area School District Board of Education during last week’s election. They also ran last year, but it was this year that brought victory after earning almost three times as many votes as the year before.
As far as Ross knows, they are the first openly LGBTQ+ person to serve on the Appleton school board. But part of why they wanted to run was to show other people they can do it, too.
And while Ross said they view many of today’s topics and issues facing students through an LGBTQ lens, they aren’t just thinking about LGBTQ students.
A key part of their campaign was better supporting student mental health. Students of color and LGBTQ students face higher rates of mental health concerns, but Ross’ expertise in mental health will help them advocate for better support for all students.
To Ross, being a school board member also means being an advocate. Yes, there are budgets to approve and contract technicalities to work through, but Ross said their role is to advocate for all students, staff and families.
More than 200 anti-LGBTQ bills this year in the US
Having a voice from the LGBTQ community is critical for students as anti-LGBTQ bills have been popping up in state legislatures across the country. The American Civil Liberties Union is tracking over 200 bills nationwide in the 2023 legislative session targeting LGBTQ rights pertaining to school and education.
Wisconsin doesn't have any bills this session, but neighboring Minnesota, Michigan and Iowa all have at least one bill. Iowa alone has over a dozen. About half of them have already been defeated, but one — requiring a person to use the bathroom or changing room that corresponds with their biological sex — was signed into law.
But that doesn’t mean Wisconsin is void of concerns for LGBTQ students. Almost a year ago, the 4,000-person community of Kiel was rattled after a Title IX investigation involving three eighth-grade boys who were said to have used incorrect pronouns for another student led to several bomb threats.
That investigation was the responsibility of the school board and ended abruptly.
More: Survey: Most Wisconsin teens knew someone COVID killed or hospitalized, felt high anxiety
LGBTQ students in Wisconsin also report significantly higher rates of bullying than their peers, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's latest Youth Risk Behavior Survey.
Ross said those discussions and other rhetoric around LGBTQ students often contain misinformation that can create a misunderstanding of what the LGBTQ community is asking for: a sense of belonging and to live without fear of violence and bullying.
“I can’t make decisions at the state or federal level, but I will have the ability to advocate within the district itself,” Ross said.
More: A year at Carmen Northwest: a student death, exodus of teachers and a quashed protest
‘Full-circle moment’
For Ross, being on the school board means “a lot.” In fact, it’s a textbook full-circle moment — and not just because they ran unsuccessfully last year. Their work helping everyone feel like they belong really began as a teenager at Neenah High School.
At age 15, Ross came out to their family. They were lucky to have a supportive family, but said they were met with less support among their peers at school. Walking through the halls of Neenah High School, they would be hit by backpacks and have slurs spewed at them.
That was a difficult experience, but Ross said they started to carve out pockets of support. There was a group of students who would meet to get support around being LGBTQ, but Ross said it was “very hush hush.”
The real catalyst for support was a teacher. One day in health class, they watched a video about the positive reaction a gay football player received after coming out. Ross went up to the teacher after class — despite feeling nervous — to share that they were going through their own coming out experience.
That was 20 years ago, but Ross said it was one of the best decisions they made because the teacher connected them with resources at the Boys and Girls Club.
While the group at the Boys and Girls Club became a source of support for Ross, they and some other students at Neenah wanted to start a school-based Gay-Straight Alliance club. At the time, clubs like that were really only present at schools in Madison and Milwaukee, not the Fox Valley, Ross said.
Ross and their peers did everything they needed to start a new club, but their principal said no. They appealed to the superintendent, who also said no. The next stop was the school board.
As a teenager, Ross sat before the board, advocating on their own behalf, as well as other LGBTQ students and allies. They talked about why a club like that would cultivate a sense of belonging and acceptance. And the board said yes. It approved the club.
“That laid the foundation for what I would do for the rest of my life; advocating for myself, for the LGBTQ community, other communities that may face discrimination or other forms of harm,” Ross said.
“I see this as a full circle moment for me.”
Reach AnnMarie Hilton at ahilton@gannett.com or 920-370-8045. Follow her on Twitter at @hilton_annmarie.
This article originally appeared on Appleton Post-Crescent: Appleton elects first openly LGBTQ school board member, Nick Ross
