Utah community rallies in support of targeted student-athlete as district calls for state board member Natalie Cline to resign
“It’s all overwhelming, and you just never think it’s going to be your kid,” van der Beek said afterward. In a rare move, the Granite board’s statement called on all school boards and elected officials in the state to join in addressing Cline’s conduct and demanding she immediately resign.“We condemn anyone who would bully or target any student for any reason, but especially those in positions of power who are specifically elected to represent and protect our children. … That such behavior is cowardly, harmful and unacceptable.
Because of the threats the post spurred, Granite School District said it needed to provide additional security for the student-athlete.have taken the first step in the process. Chandler said she is “deeply sorry for the student affected here” but also worried the statement — made in front of a line of TV news station cameras filling one side of the board meeting room — “makes more of a spectacle of our student for a longer time.”Chandler and the board president were the only members of the Granite body to speak publicly Friday. Another wore a shirt that said, “Every child needs a champion.
But van der Beek said she and her husband harbor no hate or animosity toward Cline, even with the turmoil and unwanted attention the school board member has thrown her family into this week. The mom said her daughter hates the attention and is “just trying to be a normal kid.” But it’s hurt her to have her body judged and picked apart by adults.