Fishers Mayor Scott Fadness has weighed-in on the Hamilton Southeastern School Board’s 4-3 vote Wednesday, with board members acting not to list protected groups of students and employees in the district’s nondiscrimination policy.  The mayor, in a statement released Friday, urged school board members to “enumerate those most vulnerable in their anti-discrimination policy.”

Fadness cites Dr. Martin Luther King:

“The arc of the moral universe is long but it bends toward justice.”

The mayor concedes that there is a division of authority in Indiana law between city government and school governance, but, “I cannot abdicate my role as a community leader.”

“We should not discount the effect of finally saying in an affirmative voice that we see you, we hear you, and we stand with you as one community,” Fadness said in his statement.  “For those currently in power, it may be difficult to discern the value of these actions, but we have not walked in others’ shoes.”

The board must pass the nondiscrimination policy on second reading at the May 8th meeting for the proposal to become official school policy.

Below is the full statement issued by Mayor Fadness:

“Although I recognize and respect the division of authority between our school system and city government, I cannot abdicate my role as a community leader. Our community continues to be viewed and recognized as one of the best cities in the nation to live and raise a family. Those accolades ring hollow if we are not willing to support those among us who are most vulnerable. We should not discount the effect of finally saying in an affirmative voice that we see you, we hear you, and we stand with you as one community. For those currently in power, it may be difficult to discern the value of these actions, but we have not walked in others’ shoes. We have not experienced the pain and struggles of those who have felt marginalized by our society. As Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. once said, ‘The arc of the moral universe is long but it bends toward justice.’ It is my hope and ask that the HSE School Board will enumerate those most vulnerable in their anti-discrimination policy and bring us one small step closer to a more complete community.”