On Monday the Plymouth School Committee and Select Board appointed a DEI community activist to temporarily fill a short-term vacancy left on the school committee. A total of six candidates were interviewed to fill the open seat. The selection process, however, revealed a troubling pattern of discrimination against people of faith seeking to invest in their communities through public service.
The video of the interviews posted below clearly captures biased interactions with candidate Debby Dugan, a devout Christian. Debby was asked pointed questions about her personal beliefs and volunteer work, including:
- Whether she would support board decisions even if they conflicted with her Christian values and whether she supported the separation of church and state. (at 1:04:47 in the video).
- Her work with a pro-life pregnancy resource center (at 58:07 in the video).
- Her support for a ballot initiative to repeal transgender bathroom access in MA (also at 58:07 in the video).
In answering that last question, Debby at one point stated that she believed God created men and women differently and that science supported her view. One of the select board members openly scoffed at her response. He also incorrectly asserted that the First Amendment required “freedom from religion” and asked Debby if she would support this. These questions not only sought to scrutinize her faith but also unfairly positioned her beliefs as a barrier to her potential contribution in improving education for Plymouth students.
Instead of learning more about Debby’s extensive experience as a school committee member, having previously served on several local and county school boards in New Jersey, the Plymouth town leaders blatantly demonstrated they were more interested in subjecting her to a religious purity test.
Later in the meeting, Vice-Chair Luis Pizano offered vocal support for another candidate because she is a member of the LGBTQ community, stating that the committee already had six heterosexuals (at 2:07:57 in the video).
Needless to say, the Plymouth town officials did not select Debby to fill the seat. Instead, they chose a “DEI expert” who specializes in educating others on transgender pronoun use.
Rather than conducting a fair process that evaluated candidates based on their qualifications and commitment to serving the community, the committee members and selectmen chose to push a narrow agenda that discriminates against people of faith, undermining a candidate’s religious beliefs and charitable work supporting women and babies in need.
MFI uncovered a similar “Christians need not apply” modus operandi in the Groton-Dunstable school district last year when a local parent alerted us that the DEI Advisory Committee’s charter explicitly favored non-Christian applicants. The charter stated that committee members would be selected from a pool of community applicants who represent a broad range of perspectives and voices, with a preference for non-Christians. After MFI sent a legal warning letter, this language was quickly removed.
If you or someone you know has been discriminated against because of your faith, we would love to help you. Reach out to our legal center, [email protected]rg.
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