Earlier today, we published a piece about Donnie Harrison calling us about a public records request we made, asking for his emails regarding the debate over HB 2 and his threat to pull his school resource officers from Wake County Public Schools if WCPSS doesn’t develop a system-wide policy for transgender students.
We received that public records request back today. According to Wake County legal advisor Paul Gessner, the county’s search only turned up one email, sent in response to a message submitted through the sheriff’s office email contact form. That September 24 email, from a Melvin Bright, mentions N.C. Values Coalition executive director Tami Fitzgerald and offers help “on the ‘transgender student.’”
In his response, Harrison said the same thing he told us Monday, that his decision has “nothing to do with HB 2 or any other bill.” But he later goes on to imply that the policy regarding infectious diseases, such as head lice, should be used with regards to transgender students.
“The concern I have is the parents of ‘ALL’ the students and SRO’s should know the policies of the school and school board,” Harrison writes. “Then the parent has a say whether they want their child in the dress out room or not with a transgender student. … The school sends out messages if a child has head lice so parents can make their own decisions as to what to do with the child, so why not allow them to make the decision on whether their child should be in the dress out room or [sic] as well.”
You can read the email in its entirety below. Today we asked for all communications (within the past five years) between Harrison and Fitzgerald and any additional emails between Harrison and Bright. We’ll keep you posted.
