{"id":37992,"date":"2022-10-07T00:35:42","date_gmt":"2022-10-07T06:35:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/durango-school-district-turns-the-other-cheek-at-boeberts-unfounded-litter-box-remarks\/"},"modified":"2026-03-31T02:41:45","modified_gmt":"2026-03-31T08:41:45","slug":"durango-school-district-turns-the-other-cheek-at-boeberts-unfounded-litter-box-remarks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/durango-school-district-turns-the-other-cheek-at-boeberts-unfounded-litter-box-remarks\/","title":{"rendered":"Durango School District turns the other cheek at Boebert\u2019s unfounded \u2018litter box\u2019 remarks"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\"The
The Durango School District 9-R Board of Education has accepted a letter of intent from the Durango Fire Protection District to sell its historic Administration Building to the fire agency. The two entities will now enter negotiations to see if they can agree to sale terms. (Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald)<\/span>cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert targeted Durango School District 9-R on Monday during a Mesa County Republican Women luncheon where she repeated a well-refuted lie that school districts across the country are providing litter boxes to children \u201cwho identify as cats.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDurango is doing this,\u201d Boebert said, according to a report by the Colorado Times Recorder<\/a>. <\/em>\u201cThis is how extreme it is.\u201d<\/p>\n

Durango School District said the statement is false and disparaging.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo, we don\u2019t provide litter boxes; our children use bathrooms,\u201d Karla Sluis, spokeswoman for district, told The Durango Herald<\/em> on Thursday.<\/p>\n

\n

What are \u2018furries\u2019?<\/h4>\n

Furscience, the public face of International Anthropomorphic Research Project, a group of scientists studying furry fandom to help people better understand its culture, describes furries as \u201ca diverse community of artists, writers, gamers and role players who are interested in anthropomorphized animal characters<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Sluis said she is dismayed that Boebert\u2019s false comments, which have been flung by other Republican politicians in Colorado and across the country for months, are receiving any attention.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s no sense that teachers would ever have litter boxes anywhere, and yet this rumor seems to keep getting perpetuated, not just in Durango but all over the country,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

She said comments such as Boebert\u2019s are efforts to undermine public education and insinuate that schools are \u201cgoing too far in celebrating our students\u2019 unique identities\u201d and are \u201cvery hurtful to children.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have over 30 Native American tribes represented in our schools, which is amazing. And of course a huge Latinx community. We just want to make sure that the diversity of our students is celebrated,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

She said Boebert and others should \u201cthink twice\u201d before making false, disparaging comments because they could make students \u201cfeel embarrassed that they\u2019re being singled out in what is essentially a lie.\u201d<\/p>\n

She said children can develop mental health issues when they are made to feel like they don\u2019t belong, and a sense of belonging is a core focus of the school district\u2019s diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging program.<\/p>\n

\u201c\u2018Belonging\u2019 is an important part of being a student,\u201d she said. \u201cYou might think back to how you felt as a middle schooler or an elementary student or even in high school. The need to belong is very strong and it\u2019s a kind of a deal-breaker on whether a kid will engage in school or not.\u201d<\/p>\n

In a text message to The Durango Herald<\/em>, Sluis added that the school district believes in teaching critical thinking, respectful treatment of others and behaving with integrity.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe silver lining of this ridiculous claim is that it is a good teachable moment about behavior to avoid,\u201d Sluis said.<\/p>\n

She said she\u2019d rather Durango School District receive attention for its recent SAT, PST and Colorado Measures of Academic Success test scores that placed the district among the top 20% of schools in Colorado.<\/p>\n

Kristin Smith, president of the Durango Board of Education, also highlighted students\u2019 testing achievements. In an email to the Herald<\/em>, she declined to comment on what she thinks about Boebert\u2019s statements, but affirmed that all Durango School District schools use standard restrooms.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs a Board, we are laser focused on all students receiving the very best education in our Durango 9-R School District,\u201d she said. \u201c\u2026 The Board is so proud of our students and staff who have worked so hard through the pandemic to rise to the top 20% of schools in the state of Colorado for student achievement.\u201d<\/p>\n

On Sept. 16, Durango School District announced in a news release that several of its schools \u201chad very high growth on English Language Arts (ELA) and math with growth rates of 70 and above.\u201d<\/p>\n

The test scores placed the school district in the top 20% of Colorado schools<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is a big win for everyone \u2013 students, parents, staff, and community,\u201d Superintendent Karen Cheser said in the release. \u201cIt\u2019s clear evidence of our district\u2019s success and our students\u2019 increasing achievement \u2013 even during a challenging pandemic year.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nonsense claims debunked<\/div>\n
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