GRANT, Mich. — A West Michigan school board voted to shut down a health center inside a school— some families argue it’s because a mural inside the center features LGBTQ+ imagery.
Just one board member voted against shutting down the Family Health Care Child Adolescent Health Center at Grant Middle School.
Mom Makayla Willett says that center is the reason why her son is alive today.
“When the neurosurgeon came back after doing the surgery, she said that we were glad that we didn’t wait any longer because it was, like, certainly at that point,” Willett told FOX 17.
Makayla’s son Miles, an elementary student, was diagnosed with Chiari malformation type 1, which means Miles wasn’t getting the right fluids sent to his brain.
Makayla says Miles kept getting severe pressure headaches, and the health center’s staff is the reason they were able to get the help they needed.
“We talked to two different doctors, and both of them just suggested that we do pain management for my son,” Makayla said. “This office saved his life.”
Many families in Grant now worry that other children’s lives are at risk after the school board voted 4-1 in a special meeting Friday to ratify the board’s decision from June 19 to close the health center.
Ken Thorne, vice president of the board, would not say why he voted to shut it down.
Around 200 families and faculty members accuse the board of closing the center because of the mural, created by a student, which features LGBTQ+ imagery.
“Church and state. We can work together, and I’m just asking you to reconsider and to find it in your hearts. What would Jesus think? Would He have compassion on these people? Because I do. Wouldn’t he have some compassion?” Sadie Haring, a fifth-grade teacher, said while addressing the board.
Family Health Care CEO Julie Tatko says her team had a discussion with the board about the mural several months ago.
“However, we worked with them, and some modifications were made,” Tatko explained. “That’s the last discussion that we’ve had with him about it.”
Rob Schuitema was the only board member who voted to keep the health center open.
“When you have free access to healthcare, minutes away from down the hallway, how can you possibly take that away? It doesn’t make sense to me, and I was blindsided, and I won’t stand for that,” he said.
Family Health Care says a $275,000 state grant paid for staffing and supplies.
Schuitema added that it costs the district $5,000 a year to keep the lights on.
“We’re supposed to be adding more resources to our kids and our, you know, their education experience,” he said. “And then you take away one of the most essential needs…It’s just, it’s terrible.”
Family Health Care says it will continue providing care until the doors close, which is set to happen in September.
Meanwhile, many parents in the district spoke up Friday demanding a recall of certain board members.
