Community Education

Peninsula School District flip flops on political rally at Gig Harbor High School 

First it was on, then it was off. Now, it’s back on again. 

Peninsula School District on Wednesday said it would allow Let’s Go Washington, a political action committee, to hold an initiative-signing rally on Sunday at Gig Harbor High School. 

Earlier in the week, the district denied the request, apparently in response to questions from people and organizations in the community. An anonymous individual, who said the rally seemed to violate district policy, notified Gig Harbor Now about it.  

On Wednesday, Nov. 12, Peninsula chief of schools Michael Farmer said the district reversed its position “upon further internal review.”

Let’s Go Washington Chairman Brian Heywood expressed appreciation that district officials reviewed their decision and allowed the rally.

“We are grateful to the Gig Harbor school officials for acting promptly and gathering all the facts allowing this event to move forward. This is the third time we have been made aware that ‘anonymous sources’ have provided school districts with false information trying to prevent our initiative signing events. We believe that protecting girls’ sports and including parents in the conversation about their children at school are important activities that will strengthen our public school system.”

Let’s Go Washington cited to the district a state law allowing school facilities to be used “for summer schools or for meetings, whether public, literary, scientific, religious, political, mechanical, agricultural or whatever, upon approval of the board under such rules or regulations as the board of directors may adopt, which rules or regulations may require a reasonable rental for the use of such facilities.”

About Let’s Go WA 

Let’s Go Washington is a political action committee that sponsored six initiatives for the November 2024 ballot, according to Ballotpedia. Chairman Brian Heywood founded the organization in 2022 to oppose “what I believe were some stupid, overly aggressive, radical progressive policies,” Ballotpedia reports. 

Let’s Go Washington’s website describes itself as “a non-partisan organization that is proud to work with people on the entire political spectrum. … We are proud to be working with a diverse coalition of supporters from many different political backgrounds as we fix what’s broken.” 

About the Rally 

LGW has held and plans to hold rallies at public schools across Washington state to gather signatures for two initiatives. IL26-001 aims to bolster “parents’ rights” in public schools, particularly regarding accessing children’s health records. IL26-638 would ban transgender athletes from interscholastic sports designated for girls. 

Last week, LGW had “Super Signer” rallies scheduled on Nov. 8 in Kent and Spokane. It has rallies scheduled for Nov. 15 in Bothell, Nov. 16 in Gig Harbor, Nov. 23 in Issaquah and Dec. 6 in Lynden. 

The rally in Gig Harbor will be from 1:30 to 3 p.m. at Gig Harbor High School. The guest speaker is Ari Hoffman, host of the Ari Hoffman Show on 570 KVI radio. KVI’s website describes Hoffman as “providing a current of common sense in a sea of insanity.” 

District hits pause

Farmer on Monday shared with Gig Harbor Now a letter he had sent to Let’s Go Washington informing them that permission previously granted to hold the rally was rescinded. 

“Upon further internal review, it has come to our attention that a miscommunication occurred and an approval was issued without proper authorization or review by our district administration,” Farmer’s letter said. 

“In line with past practices, and under our existing policies, your event is not authorized. In the past, we have allowed seated officials to conduct town halls to facilitate public access to those they represent. We acknowledge that there may be some ambiguity in the current policy, and we are committed to reviewing and eliminating the confusion. 

“We sincerely apologize for any confusion or concern this mistaken approval may have caused.” 

Policies at play

Farmer on Wednesday said the district reviewed Board Policy 4260, Use of School Facilities, and Policy 4400, Election Activities — cross referencing them with state laws, rules and regulations — and concluded that the LGW rally was permissible. 

Under Policy 4260, the district makes its facilities available to rent on a non-discriminatory basis to a wide range of groups.  

“However, public facilities will not be used to assist in any candidate’s campaign or to support or oppose any ballot measure,” Policy 4400 on Election Activities states. This appears to be a point of confusion, as the individual contacting Gig Harbor Now cited this policy. 

The accompanying 4400P, Procedure on Election Activities, however, seems to allow such use, as long as no one gets preferential treatment (as in Policy 4260). 

Procedure 4400P, citing primarily RCW 42.17.130, details a wide range of prohibited and permissible election-related activities in public facilities. It says community groups may use facilities “for meetings supporting or opposing a ballot measure to the extent that the facilities are made available on an equal access or nondiscriminatory basis.” 

PDC weighs in 

Natalie Johnson, spokeswoman for the Washington State Public Disclosure Commission, said the PDC gets a lot of questions about political use of public facilities. 

Johnson said she couldn’t comment specifically about Peninsula School District’s case because the PDC hasn’t “investigated all the facts.” 

In general, she said, “We advise local public agencies that if they rent out facilities or meeting space to anyone on an equal basis, then they can also rent to organizations for political events without violating RCW 42.17A.555, which deals with public facilities in election campaigns. If space is provided giving special consideration to a political committee or candidate (such as a discounted rate) it could be a problem.” 

The RCW doesn’t apply to initiatives to the Legislature; however, Johnson added. 

Permission granted, again 

Farmer on Wednesday responded again by email to Gig Harbor Now, saying the rally was back on. 

After the district sent its initial letter, Farmer said, Let’s Go Washington contacted them “with more information, requesting that we reconsider their denial. 

“After seeking further legal counsel, the district has determined that approving this application for use of public facilities is consistent with state law and board policies.” 

Farmer stressed that the approval of LGW’s request does not amount to district endorsement of Let’s Go Washington or their cause. Board Policy 4260, School Facility Use, states, in part, “Authorization for use of school facilities will not be considered as endorsement or approval of the activity, group or organization.” 

“We will continue to review our policies and procedures to eliminate any confusion in the future,” Farmer said.