GRANDVILLE, Mich — A Grandville business faces allegations of discrimination after an event it hosted over the weekend.
The owners deny any wrongdoing.
On Saturday, Tarry Hall Roller Skating Rink held a homecoming dance.
According to a Facebook post, the “exclusive” event was open to students with a valid ID from the following schools:
- Jenison Public Schools
- Allendale Public Schools
- Grandville Public Schools
- Hudsonville Public Schools
- Byron Center Public Schools
- Wayland Union Schools
- Zeeland Public Schools
- Unity Christian Schools
- South Christian Schools
- Calvin Christian Schools
- Tri-Unity Christian Schools
Tarry Hall says invites were extended to local schools that have supported the rink by booking events and school parties since the current owners took over in January 2021.
However, the superintendent of Wyoming Public Schools, Craig Hoekstra, is questioning that reasoning.
In a Facebook post, Hoekstra called the nature of the event, “seemingly discriminatory.”
He noted that the schools invited were all predominately white schools, some of them further from Tarry Hall than the schools in the area like Wyoming, East Kentwood, Godfrey-Lee, Godwin Heights, Kelloggsville, and Grand Rapids Public Schools.
In a letter sent to parents on Monday, Hoekstra said that Wyoming Public Schools "has a long history of supporting and spending valuable resources at Tarry Hall Roller Rink.”
Schools officials told FOX17 the district has hosted 33 school events at the rink since 2009. The last one was held in March 2020. Another event was planned for last spring, but the district cancelled it due to COVID-19 guidelines.
“I have reached out to Tarry Hall Roller Rink and am awaiting a return call to better understand why our community was not included in this event but has been accepted in the past when we have hosted private events,” wrote Hoekstra. “Their unwillingness to provide clarity and engage in a conversation is highly disappointing and the optics of the situation are divisive versus bringing youth from different areas across the community together.”
FOX17 has reached out multiple times to Tarry Hall and its owners since Sunday night, but has not heard back as of publication.
As part of our investigation, FOX17 contacted the schools on Tarry Hall’s list to confirm their prior involvement with the business.
An administration official with South Christian School says it has not booked an event at Tarry Hall for at least five years.
The official, who asked to remain anonymous, went onto to say that the school does not have a homecoming dance and was unaware of the event.
A spokesperson for Grandville Public Schools said elementary schools within the district have held skating parties at Tarry Hall in recent months.
Erin Albanese, a Wyoming mom, originally raised concerns with the event in a Facebook post on Saturday.
She says her daughter’s friends from Grandville invited her to the event.
As Albanese looked into its legitimacy, she noted the districts on the list were ones much further away and with less diverse populations than the schools just a few miles away from Tarry Hall.
Her post has been shared at least 200 times with other parents expressing similar concerns about alleged discrimination.
“Even if it wasn’t intentional, just think about what you’re doing with your policies that exclude some students and invite others,” said Albanese. “This whole, ‘let’s have an exclusive event,’ is not the message that they really want to send to families and kids. To teach kids to be exclusive is pretty offensive in my opinion.”
Albanese notes her daughter was allowed into the event and was not asked for ID, but believes it was because she has blonde hair and blue eyes.
