Jefferson County school officials face harsh criticism after it was revealed that the Colorado school district lied about students identified as animals and dressed as “furries” during the day.
Despite their official denials, the presence of the so-called furries was confirmed by internal emails gathered by a local TV station. Parents also produced multiple pictures taken by their children showing students in costumes.
An early rumor of litter boxes provided for students was strongly denied by the school board, and there was no substantiation of the claim. However, as many as two dozen parents contacted school officials about students donning costumes.
KCNC-TV obtained emails showing the politicizing of the controversy by school administrators. One note came from Tara Pena, chief of family school and community partnerships.
Pena asked if it would help school officials to link complaints about furries to the “larger, national political platform to further marginalize our transgender and LGBT+ students.”
Colorado school board brazenly denied reports that kids were hissing and barking as 'furries' in schools, but emails prove that it lied to smear parents https://t.co/TLUSUx9DmV
— TheBlaze (@theblaze) November 8, 2022
The wealthy Denver suburb of Lakewood exploded after Heidi Ganahl, Republican candidate for governor, told a local radio host in September about the furries in Colorado schools.
One parent admonished the district for not allowing baseball caps and regulating shirt lengths while allowing students to wear “animal ears, meowing and barking at other kids.”
The parent described the situation as a “constant distraction.”
The administration quickly issued a rebuttal, flatly declaring “there is absolutely no truth to this claim.” It stated that students are not allowed to attend school in costume and “there are no furries or students identifying as such during the school day.”
The issue and disruption reportedly became so predominant at Drake Middle School that Chief of Schools David Weiss wrote an email to the deputy superintendent on the “challenges.”
School administrators promptly updated their dress code to ban the costumes.
The leftist Colorado Times Recorder described the outrage as stemming from students involved in a “niche subculture that embraces anthropomorphic art and cosplay — and is predominantly LGBT+.”
Branding the GOP candidate for governor a liar along with concerned parents flies in the face of overwhelming evidence that the problem existed and may still be in Jefferson County schools. It is far past due for public schools to return to fundamental education, and cat ears are not part of it.
