News : School officials, student come to agreement over Confederate flag issue

After a two-day controversy over the Confederate flag at Vinton-Shellsburg High School, and incidents of mailbox vandalism by suspects whom one witness identified as high school students with Confederate flags on their vehicles (see that story HERE), school officials have reached an agreement with the student whose flag began the dispute on Thursday.

“There has been a controversy at the high school that involved balancing the freedom of speech and making sure we have a safe and orderly learning environment,” said Superintendent Mary Jo Hainstock. “The controversy involved strong opinions. Over the weekend, the situation escalated beyond our school walls with vandalism and inappropriate behavior against one of our school families.”

The issue began when one class of students began a survey, asking their peers for their opinion on the Confederate flag issue. On Wednesday, one student said negative things about the Confederate flag, prompting two students to place them on their vehicles on Thursday. One of those two, Hunter Gray, refused to take down his flag, and said he was asked to leave. Several more students brought Confederate flags to school on Friday.

“VSHS Principal Matt Kingsbury and I met this evening with Hunter Gray, his parents and representatives from the Vinton Police Department,” said Hainstock. “We discussed the recent events and next steps. We agreed on many things – most importantly, the need to move forward in a positive manner. We formally agreed to (and signed) the following statements:

* We believe in freedom of speech.

* We believe in respecting others’ opinions; even if they are not the same as our own.

* We understand while people have rights, there are reasonable boundaries that can be placed on them.

* We understand that there are various interpretations of what the confederate flag represents.

* We recognize that some people condone actions or words that convey hatred or violence; we do not support them.

* We believe in creating an orderly learning environment and everyone at school should feel it is a safe and secure place to be.

* We want to focus on making the high school, the school district and the community a positive place for all.

We are all confident that we will all be able to focus on teaching and learning tomorrow.

Hainstock reports that during the Sunday evening meeting, Gray said he does not plan to display the Confederate flag on his truck as he enters the parking lot and he does plan to attend classes.

“Mr. Kingsbury had two other students tell him they would be attending class tomorrow as well. Other students may elect to fly flags or park on side streets,” says Hainstock.