The August 19 school board vote in Tabor, Iowa, was expected to be a mere formality. Ace Rios had already been offered the job of band teacher at Fremont-Mills Community School District. He had already been granted keycard access to school buildings, been assigned a classroom, and decorated the walls with colorful posters and a bright red “Mr. Rios” sign.
But now, Rios has stripped down the posters, leaving behind bare walls, and the middle school and the high school are going without what should have been their new band teacher. That is because the man they’d offered the job to—Rios—is transgender. And when community members found out, there was an uproar on social media, calling for the board to reject his final confirmation mere days before classes began.
A crowd of a couple dozen had assembled at that August 19 board meeting—likely a record turnout for the district that serves just over 400 kids total between both schools. As the very first speaker in the public comment section of the meeting put it: “Obviously, the issue is with you guys hiring a transgender [sic].”
“I am opposed to my grandchildren being subjected to that lifestyle,” said another attendee to the board. She identified herself as a former board member of over 14 years.
Other members of the community stepped up to speak and say that Rios’ gender identity was against their “biblical” values, or that they were concerned about where Rios might use the restroom, or that if Rios was hired, they’d pull their child from the district. On social media, he was reportedly labeled an “it” and a “pervert.”
Rios, a recent graduate of the music education program at the University of Nebraska, sat there in the room, listening to all of it.
Two board members—Jen Wyant and Mary Beth Korver—voted to greenlight Rios’ hiring in spite of the backlash.
“As a school board member, I believe my responsibility is to make decisions based on the qualifications of the candidate and the needs of our school district,” Wyant said to the crowd.
“Our administrators conducted the interview process, evaluated the candidates, and are recommending this individual for the position. The candidate has the appropriate educational background, performed very well academically, received positive recommendations from student teaching experiences, and interviewed well.”
“Opinions do not replace an established hiring process, District policies, or the professional judgment of the administrators we have entrusted to make these recommendations,” Wyant continued. “As a veteran, the principle of integrity is particularly important to me. For me, that means doing the right thing on what is based on facts and responsibilities entrusted to me, even when that decision may not be the most popular one.”
But the other board members—Eli Forney, Wes Hill, and Shannon Smith—did not vote to approve Rios. So when the dust cleared, Rios was out of a job, and the small, southwestern Iowa community was forced to commence the school year without their new band teacher.
“School starts on Monday and this hasn’t been resolved,” a parent said in the aftermath.
It is unclear what they will do in the interim as they search for another band teacher. A board member said they couldn’t answer at the meeting—but the decision was final. And as the board prepared to move on to another topic, Rios stopped and stood up in front of the room. “If you would like to come visit the classroom that I have set up already for these lovely students that I was so excited to teach, please come do so after this meeting,” he said. “I was super excited to be here. Be there for your children. Teach band. That’s what I do. Nothing else.” He sat back down.
Now, Rios told a reporter, he is consulting legal counsel to sue the district for discrimination.
“While a number of local governments in Iowa previously adopted ordinances prohibiting discrimination based on gender identity, Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds signed a law this year barring cities and counties from keeping such protections in place,” The Advocate reported on the matter. “That came a year after Reynolds signed a law removing gender identity from the Iowa Civil Rights Act.” This makes Iowa the first state to eliminate a protected class from civil rights code.
Critically, this doesn’t nullify federal protections against employment discrimination as outlined in the Supreme Court’s 2020 decision for Bostock v. Clayton County. However, federal protections may be enforced at the whim of circuit court politics and/or Trumpian policy goals.
Indeed, Tabor’s extended back-and-forth on Rios’ “sexual identity” is an echo of Project 2025, the playbook for the authoritarian right. It classifies “transgender ideology” as “pornography.”
“Its purveyors are child predators and misogynistic exploiters of women,” the document reads. “The people who produce and distribute it should be imprisoned. Educators and public librarians who purvey it should be classed as registered sex offenders.”
The board did not immediately respond to a request for comment about what music education would look like without their hire for the position.
Many parents also expressed outrage at the outcome of this vote.
“It’s new here. We live in a place in southwest Iowa where you don’t see people like Ace,” one father told the room in an impassioned speech. “But you know what else you don’t see? You don’t see people who are coming in here. That might be the person that changes my daughter into Mozart. But because they dress different, it’s a problem?”
“People like that guy right there—maybe somebody needs that change in this place,” he said, gesturing to Rios, still sitting in the room. “We need change.”
This is heartbreaking 💔
"Now, Rios told a reporter, he is consulting legal counsel to sue the district for discrimination." <-- More power to him.
I hope to hear of effective pushback from parents who aren't child abusing bigots.
"Many parents also expressed outrage at the outcome of this vote.", and the situation needs far more of it! Change the membership of the board!
Thank you Baum.