Shasta school board member intentionally misgendered a trans parent. So his peers did this.

Perhaps sensing that the attention surrounding a censure was something Shasta County Board of Education Trustee Authur Gorman desired, the board decided not to formally rebuke their colleague on Wednesday.

To formally censure Gorman, the trustees agreed, would not move the board forward in a positive way.

“I don't see a censuring as doing that. I think you like attention and that will give you more attention and it will fuel the fire and we’ll just keep going. I really don’t want to be a part of that. I think it can kind of be used as a badge of honor in some ways, so I just think it’s counterproductive,” trustee Laura Manuel said.

Manuel prefaced the comment by saying that she doesn't want to have an antagonistic relationship with Gorman, that he worked hard to get elected last year and she respects that.

“I’m fine with you having different opinions and different perspectives. That’s good,” Manuel said.

Wednesday’s meeting at the Shasta County Office of Education's Professional Development Center was at times contentious and chaotic as Gorman's supporters and detractors filled the room.

The board was considering censure after Gorman, at a May 11 board meeting, allegedly bullied Bobbie Simpson, a transgender parent with children in the Gateway Unified School District, by misgendering her.

Simpson was at the May 11 meeting to address a meme that Gorman had recently posted on social media that featured pictures of Simpson and Gateway school board members Elias and Lindsi Haynes, who are targets of an attempted recall.

The caption above Simpson’s photo said, “DOES THIS REPRESENT YOUR VOICE FOR GATEWAY” The Hayneses’ photo caption said, “or does this represent your voice. Say no to the Liberal Recall.”

“I don’t think a board member bullying a parent on social media is an appropriate thing for the kids to see,” Simpson told the Record Searchlight before the meeting. “I would like to see the board stand up and say officially that they don’t support what (Gorman) did.”

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Jessica French, who has two children in Shasta County public schools, was offended by Gorman’s meme and his conduct at the May 11 meeting. French asked that a potential censure of Gorman be put on the agenda.

Board President Kathy Barry said the censure discussion was on the agenda because of “the unprofessional conduct (at a board meeting) that was brought to our attention regarding one of our board members.”

French told trustees that Gorman intentionally “misgendered” Simpson during a break at the May 11 meeting.

“Arthur told Bobbie that ‘you are in politics now,’ insinuating that because she signed a recall, that meant she now deserved to be bullied on social media by an elected official,” French said.

Gorman spoke after public comments, saying what was on display was a violation of the First Amendment and his freedom of speech.

He said when he approached Bobbie and a group of people at the May 11 meeting, he told them he appreciated their opinions.

“(Simpson) didn’t like that I addressed him as a male gender. I called him Bobbie, that’s what his name was. He wanted me to call him a woman. I’m not going to do that,” Gorman said.

Those who supported Gorman also defended his freedom to speak, bringing up the Constitution or quoting Bible verses to emphasize, in their words, Gorman’s right to speak his mind.

Others threatened the board if they censured Gorman.

“You do anything to violate anybody’s constitutionally-protected rights and you will be prosecuted. Not maybe, not kind of, you will be prosecuted,” Terry Rapoza said.

A Shasta County teacher who was critical of Gorman's actions told the board that what was being discussed was very personal because she is an educator.

“The bigger question is: When are we going to stop our elected school board officials from acting in a manner that we would never accept from our teachers, our students, our administrators? If we expect the best from them, we need to expect the best from our board,” the teacher said.

“Freedom of speech is consistently the argument for why he said what he said and why he should be allowed to say what he said. By that logic, teachers can say whatever we want to your children. It’s our constitutional right,” the teacher concluded.

Gorman agreed with the board that they need to come together, noting that trustee Nick Webb said real issues facing students should be taking up the board's time.

“I did say that. But I think it’s important to note that one route towards that is to make everybody comfortable with the conversation, and people identify with pronouns for their own personal reasons, and because that’s where they feel comfortable,” Webb said. “I think it’s a very small act to meet people on their field when we interact. I think that’s a very small thing that we can do to show that we are interested in hearing what they have to say.”

Trustee Manuel apologized to Simpson.

"I'm sorry about what happened to Bobbie. Bobbie has spoken to the board several times (and) has provided valuable perspective and has always been respectful," Manuel said.

Barry, the board president, said she did not support censure, but the board still needed to send a message that it doesn’t condone bullying or harassment.

“My belief is that the actions that happened were unprofessional and didn’t reflect the board as a whole. No one board member has the standing to speak for or represent the board and I want to make sure that everyone here understands that piece,” Barry said.

David Benda covers business, development and anything else that comes up for the USA TODAY Network in Redding. He also writes the weekly "Buzz on the Street" column. He’s part of a team of dedicated reporters that investigate wrongdoing, cover breaking news and tell other stories about your community. Reach him on Twitter @DavidBenda_RS or by phone at 1-530-338-8323. To support and sustain this work, please subscribe today.

This article originally appeared on Redding Record Searchlight: Trans parent intentionally misgendered by school board member