An old First Amendment story with a timeless message

About mile three of my walk, I remembered a 35-year-old story about the time when the Sioux City School Board tabled the First Amendment to the Constitution. Describing this as a chaotic time in the district, is like saying a tornado caused a little wind.

In 1990, I was an English/journalism teacher in Cherokee. I was active in the Iowa State Education Association. The longtime director of the Sioux City Education Association was retiring. I applied. When I got the job, I was like the dog who caught the car, now what?

I’d be replacing a beloved legend. He’d been there more than 25 years and fought the early contract wars establishing the association voice.

While I was sweating with my staff to finish the high school yearbook, I received a letter from Dr. Sally Bell, Sioux City’s superintendent. It pledged to work with me and welcomed me to the district. I responded in the same tone. That was a mistake. She sent my response to every school and directed it to be placed in all faculty rooms.

Teachers were angry. The new guy pledged to work with their adversary. I was trying to start a new chapter. They wanted the book slammed shut.

Two things saved me from myself. In her letter, Bell invited me to speak at the opening kickoff, and the theme was “teamwork.” Also, until the start of school, the legend mentored me.

Now, I was staring at 1,000 people in a sweltering auditorium. My pin-striped suit was saturated with sweat-stripes.

I spoke about the association being team players but refusing to sit at the end of the bench as benchwarmers. We wouldn’t be silent, and we’d fight to be on the first team. Bell frowned.

After I sat down, I silently prayed she’d criticize me. She did. She said, “Thank you, although some of those comments were inappropriate.” I had arrived.

She had issued an edict that no education employee could speak to school board members without first following the chain of command. Sally was the big knot in that chain.

We decided to go in front of the school board and ask them to reaffirm the First Amendment. We wrote it out and gave it to each board member. We’d set a trap. If they voted for our reaffirmation, we were going to publicly describe how Sally Bell suppressed free speech. If they voted against our proposal, well, they’d be voting against the First Amendment.

They tabled the First Amendment.

That was the beginning of the end for Sally Bell as superintendent. The community lost confidence in the board and in her. There was a separation agreement negotiated, and it was finalized one morning around 3 a.m. I was wide-awake.

Freedom of Speech isn’t a red or blue issue. It’s an American one. We can’t let suppression of speech be the new normal. People died for these rights. History has shown us that it’s impossible to manage thought or expression long-term.

It happened in Sioux City 35 years ago. It’s going to happen now when Americans say, “We’ve had enough,” and begin speaking truth to power.

Bruce Lear taught for 11 years and represented educators as an Iowa State Education Association Regional Director for 27 years until he retired. He lives in Sioux City. BruceLear2419@gmail.com