The Canyons Board of Education voted Tuesday, Feb. 13 for a resolution calling for the resignation of Utah State Board of Education member Natalie Cline.
Canyons leaders met in a special meeting in response to the Granite School District’s request of other school districts and elected bodies to join with them in asking for Cline to resign.
The Granite school board’s actions came after one of Cline’s social media posts targeted a Granite student and resulted in dozens of denigrating comments about the teenager.
The post has been deleted but the swift reaction against the post has attracted national attention.
“Tonight, we stand shoulder-to-shoulder with our colleagues on the Granite Board of Education” in publicly asking for Cline’s resignation, said Canyons Board President Amber Shill.
The Canyons Board of Education unanimously approved the following resolution:
“WHEREAS, Utah State School Board Member Natalie Cline targeted a Utah student in a harmful social media post, which attracted and resulted in demeaning and deplorable comments from her followers; and,
WHEREAS, We agree with Utah Gov. Spencer Cox and Lt. Gov. Deirdre Henderson’s descriptions of her actions as ‘unconscionable’ and join with them in firmly urging the Utah State Board of Education to hold her accountable for this behavior; and,
WHEREAS, Midvale City, a Canyons city that is represented by Cline on the state board, has publicly asked for Cline’s resignation and said her unacceptable actions have ‘led to undue stress and potential harm to the student’ and ‘cast a long shadow over the integrity of the Utah State Board of Education;’ and,
WHEREAS, We support a proposed House resolution filed by Utah Rep. Robert Spendlove, R-Sandy, titled ‘House Resolution to Address State School Board Member Natalie Cline;’ and,
WHEREAS, Every child has the right to a safe and welcoming educational environment, and state Board member Cline’s pattern of unkind and objectionable conduct has repeatedly violated her office’s sacred obligation to protect Utah school children from harm; and,
WHEREAS, We believe elected officials, especially those in positions of power over Utah’s schools, bear the responsibility to represent and protect children from all forms of discrimination, harassment, and bullying; and,
THEREFORE, WE RESOLVE, to join with Granite Board of Education in calling for Board member Natalie Cline’s immediate resignation from the Utah State Board of Education.”
Board members Andrew Edtl, Amanda Oaks, Mont Millerberg, Holly Neibaur, Karen Pedersen and Nancy Tingey also made personal statements.
Recordings of those statements can be accessed on CSDtv, the District’s YouTube channel.
