WATERTOWN — Watertown alumni are gathering signatures and filing complaints against their school board after it voted to remove a song with ties to LGBTQ+ history from a high school spring concert.
The Watertown School Board voted to pull "A Mother of a Revolution!" from the Spring Wind Symphony Concert, claiming the lyric-less song violates the district's controversial issues policy.
Lindsay Kinateder, a 2009 Watertown High School graduate, said the decision left her feeling more than just let down.
"It's sad and disappointing cuz I had hoped that the school district would have progressed, and I feel like they're falling back," Kinateder said.
She said she was a mix of emotions after hearing the decision that the board made.
"It was very confusing at first, and then it escalated, I think to confusion to frustration and then frustration to this is ridiculous, we have to do something," Kinateder said.
Kinateder and other Watertown alumni are now gathering signatures, letters, and documents to build a case against the school board.
Watch: Watertown alumni fight back after school board removes LGBTQ+-linked song from spring concert
The group is exploring possible misconduct by the board, as well as potential violations of Title IX, the law that prohibits sex-based discrimination in any school funded by the federal government.
"We actually have consulted legal. We have consulted lawyers, and we do believe we have a case," Kinateder said.
Adam Klaus, a Watertown alumnus who graduated in the late 1990s and is now based in California, is also pushing for accountability.
"To the school board, we are watching. Like you don't make these decisions in a vacuum. People are paying attention now, and we're going to hold you accountable," Klaus said.
Klaus said the board's focus on the song is a distraction from more pressing issues.
"Every minute they spend talking about censoring the band is one that they are not focusing on the real challenges of the district," Klaus said.
In a press release issued Sunday, the school board president wrote: "The Watertown School Board remains committed to providing academic education free from indoctrination."
Kinateder pushed back on that framing.
"That's the whole thing that they keep saying is, we don't want indoctrination. We need to protect our students.' Well, your students all have told you that this is unacceptable and they don't want this to be happening. Are you really listening to them?" Kinateder said.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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