NEWS

Should a Bourne School Committee member resign because of her TikTok videos? Some say yes

Cynthia McCormick
Cape Cod Times

BOURNE — The Bourne teachers union plans to seek the resignation of Bourne School Committee member Kari MacRae after a TikTok video emerged of MacRae making controversial comments about gender identification and racism education.

“This is not what Bourne stands for. This is not what our school committee stands for. It is not what our community stands for. We would like to see her hand in her resignation,” said Ann-Marie C. Strode, a Bourne High School teacher who is serving as president of the Bourne Educators Association

MacRae, one of two candidates who ran uncontested in May for two seats on the school committee, recorded video of herself behind the wheel of a car on what appeared to be Election Day. In the video, she said she was running to oppose an agenda being pushed on students.

Ann-Marie C. Strode is a Bourne High School teacher who is serving as president of the Bourne Educators Association. The union is seeking a school committee member's resignation after a controversial TikTok video.

“So pretty much the reason I ran for school board and the reason I’m taking on this responsibility is to ensure that students, at least in our town, are not being taught critical race theory. That they’re not being taught that the country was built on racism,” MacRae said in the TikTok video viewed by the Times.

“So," she added, "they're not being taught that they can choose whether or not they want to be a girl or a boy.”

MacRae, who also took video of herself filling in a ballot, said in the video, “It’s one thing to include and it’s one thing to be inclusive. And it’s one thing to educate everybody about everything. It's completely another thing to push your agenda.”

"With me on the school board, that won’t happen in our town.”

A screenshot from the TikTok video made by Bourne School Committee member Kari MacRae. The Bourne teachers' union and others have called for her resignation.

MacRae, who is on the school board's curriculum subcommittee, said in a written statement sent to the Times on Thursday that she apologized “for anyone feeling offended.”

“I decided to run for the school committee to give back to my community that I love and have been a citizen of my whole life,” MacRae said. “Since being sworn in on May 19th, I have been engaged, excited and have learned so much. I now feel that I have let some down.”

Violating schools' core values

The posts came to light at the Sept. 1 school committee meeting, Strode said, when Chairperson Emily Berry referred to a complaint the school committee received about a member’s posting on social media.

“The committee has discussed and reviewed this matter and has determined that some of the postings violated the core values of the Bourne public schools,” Berry said at the time. 

Berry said MacRae “did apologize to the committee for her posting and will have a more formal statement" at a future school committee meeting.

The school committee scheduled a session meeting on the complaint against MacRae for Wednesday.

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Bourne School Superintendent Kerri Anne Quinlan-Zhou said public comments will begin at 6 p.m., and an executive session is scheduled for 7 p.m. The meeting was moved from its usual location in the high school library to the auditorium to accommodate members of the public.

What will the Bourne School Committee focus on?

In an email to the Times on Thursday, Berry said the school board is mainly concerning itself with MacRae’s comments on gender identity and not racism education.

"The Bourne School Committee is not focusing on Ms. MacRae's comments regarding Critical Race Theory but rather her comments and posts referencing the LGBTQ community," Berry said.

"The number one priority of the school committee is to ensure all students and staff feel safe, welcomed and appreciated,” Berry said.

“Several posts on Ms. MacRae’s TikTok were in direct violation with BPS policies and values regarding inclusion,” Berry said.

"These comments have upset a very large population of staff, students and community members," Berry said.

Berry said the public comments are being scheduled due to "the overwhelming amount of community members who want to speak regarding derogatory comments directed at the LGBTQ population."

Responding to concerns about Critical Race Theory

Berry said MacRae's comments about critical race theory "are her opinion and do not break policy since CRT is not taught in Bourne Public Schools."

According to EducationWeek, critical race theory is a more than 40-year-old academic concept that "race is a social construct, and that racism is not merely the product of individual bias or prejudice, but also something embedded in legal systems and policies."  

Strode said that as a history teacher she is available to discuss the curriculum and academic expectations with anyone who asks.

"No one ever asked us. We never had that opportunity to have that conversation about what we teach about history in Bourne."

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"We teach the Massachusetts state standards. It does include the topic of slavery. We address it. We teach American history," Strode said.

'It's supposed to be better now'

Neither Strode, Berry nor Quinlan-Zhou would go into detail when contacted this week about what MacRae said on social media or TikTok videos. Quinlan-Zhou said the videos were brought to the attention of school officials by a Bourne High School graduate.

Berry said she is not at liberty to share the posts at this time since they are the subject of a complaint against a public official being discussed in executive session.

Alexandra Stanton, a member of a school district special education advisory group, said the situation has brought her back to the unwelcome days of her high school years, when she felt less than accepted as a gay person.

“I don’t want to do that. It’s supposed to be better now. Kids just need to feel welcome,” Stanton said.

MacRae said in her statement to the Times, which she addressed to "members of my community," that the staff and schools have her support.

“The mere thought of any member of our community feeling anything less than safe and heard saddens me deeply.”

“As a mother, grandmother, and woman, I have always been someone that family, friends and colleagues could reach out to for support when dealing with life struggles,” MacRae said.

“I am also a proud lifelong Bourne resident and I love my community and this includes EVERYONE! I love our schools and staff which I have known for many years after having three children go through our public school system.”

MacRae said in a text Thursday that she was advised by school committee counsel to issue the statement instead of speaking to a Times reporter.

Politics in the schools

The seven-member Bourne School Committee is not the first Cape school board in recent months to be caught up in culturally divisive issues. 

Brewster School Committee candidate Rheanna Hastings was criticized by supporters of her opponent, Sarah Sherman, for not talking openly to voters about her beliefs despite her work with the United Cape Patriots.

The conservative political group was founded by Adam Lange, of Brewster, who is known for riding in an old camouflage military truck outfitted with a fake machine gun and hosting rallies about flashpoint issues.

Unlike Hastings — who lost her race despite donations from the Brewster Republican Town Committee and conservative groups Renew Massachusetts and Western Mass GOP Patriots — MacRae was elected to her three-year seat in Bourne uncontested with no campaign contributions or expenditures, according to a campaign finance report filed with the Bourne Town Clerk’s office.

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A glimpse at what is public on MacRae’s personal Facebook page shows barely a hint of political leanings, although one Facebook friend urged her to take on state and federal mandates as a school board member.

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Strode said it is not politics that is spurring the teachers union to ask MacRae to leave the school committee. “This whole issue to me is not political,” Strode said.

“There’s a moral responsibility here to care and serve the school community. I don’t believe (MacRae) has done that.”

Contact Cynthia McCormick at cmccormick@capecodonline.com