Prior Lake School Board meeting grows heated following student's racist video
PRIOR LAKE, Minn. (FOX 9) - The Prior Lake School Board meeting grew heated Monday night in the wake of racist videos posted by a student.
Community members packed the meeting, demanding the district take action. After widespread calls for the district to expel the student, the superintendent announced the student is no longer enrolled in the district.
Prior Lake racist video: School board members walk out of meeting as activists demand action
As the criminal investigation into a racist video made by a now former Prior Lake student continues, school board members abruptly ended a meeting on Monday as activists interrupted proceedings and demanded action.
"It’s crazy to think, like, a month ago today I’d have a normal day of just going to school, coming home, doing homework and going to bed, and that’s completely changed now," Nya said.
Nya Sigin’s life was changed forever by racist videos she says classmates sent her earlier this month. The videos include the N-Word and encouraged Nya to commit suicide. In the days after the video, the community rallied around the Prior Lake High School freshman. But now, two weeks later, Nya’s family worries the school isn’t taking the situation seriously, and they say administrators haven’t spoken to them since.
"I just feel like they brushed it under the rug," Nya said.
The district planned a special school board meeting Monday to discuss the situation, but it was canceled.
Then, at the regular meeting, the school board walked out after things went off the rails in front of a full house.
"You can step out. I’m going to keep speaking to these people that you guys are supposed to represent…you only exist in this room to represent them," one of the speakers said.
"Every day we have to struggle and you can just walk out of the room and not see what we have to go through," said Elizabeth Sigin, Nya’s sister.
The superintendent says the student in the video is no longer enrolled in the district, but they can’t share details about their investigation or actions taken to address the situation.
Prior Lake racist video: School board meeting interrupted by activists
A school board meeting on Monday, November 22 was interrupted by activists raising concerns over a racist video made by a now-former student targeting freshman Nya Sigin. One man demanded to be heard as school board members moved to end public comment for the meeting. Board members instead called for a recess then ended its live stream broadcast of the meeting. Before the swift end, several members of the public spoke out about the video and other racial issues within the district.
Meanwhile, a criminal investigation into the video continues, and Savage Police Chief Rodney Seurer said he thinks it could take at least two more weeks. Then, his department will forward its findings to the Scott County Attorney’s Office for any potential criminal charges.
"It was pretty clear what happened in the video, so I don’t know what’s taking them so long," said Elizabeth Sigin.
The school board decided to adjourn the rest of the open meeting, and the business they had on the agenda tonight will now have to wait until mid-December. They are having a closed meeting, though, and speaking with their lawyer about possible punishment for the student in the video.