The Lubbock-Cooper Independent School District has addressed a rumor of political bias that started on social media shortly after the school district condemned the vandalization of school property on August 17th, 2020.

Each year for the past four years, Lubbock-Cooper ISD seniors are allowed to purchase their own exclusive parking spot at the school and paint or decorate it however they want, with a few exceptions. It was discovered on Monday that several parking spots which had "Trump 2020" painted on them had been vandalized and painted over with messages such as "Black Lives Matter" and "#SaveOurChildren."

Lubbock-Cooper ISD Superintendent Dr. Keith Bryant issued a statement that morning condemning the vandalism and ensuring the public that those responsible would be prosecuted if identified. "We have students and staff with differing political beliefs; and we expect those beliefs to be respected and valued. As United States citizens, we have the freedom to disagree with one another, but it is completely unacceptable (and illegal) to vandalize property in disagreement," said Dr. Bryant.

Shortly after the incident, it was reported that a rumor was being spread on social media that Lubbock-Cooper ISD was not being honest about its school policies. The rumor, according to an August 19th press release from the school district, accused LCISD of allowing senior students to paint pro-Trump messages, but instructed a student to paint over a parking space they had written "Black Lives Matter" on.

In the statement, Dr. Bryant assured students and the public that the rumor is false and that the only material prohibited from being painted on senior parking spots is profanity or vulgar images. He pointed out that the only instance in which a political message would be prohibited was if it also contained profanity or vulgar images.

He went on to reaffirm that Black Lives Matter statements are not prohibited by the school district, and that they encourage students to express their beliefs.

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This week Lubbock-Cooper ISD made a statement concerning graffiti that was painted over a Trump 2020 parking spot at Lubbock-Cooper High School.

Seniors are allowed to decorate parking spots with restrictions for profanity, illegal behavior or vulgarity.

After news broke that the pro-Trump parking spots were vandalized, some people took to social media to say Lubbock-Cooper did not provide the same protection for students who wanted to display BLM or #blacklivesmatter parking spots. Lubbock-Cooper ISD on Wednesday issued a statement saying such claims are false.

The following is a statement from Lubbock-Cooper:

Regarding students that said they had to paint over their Black Lives Matter parking space:

Lubbock-Cooper ISD has been made aware of a rumor circulating social media that a Lubbock-Cooper High School student was instructed to “paint over” or repaint a parking space because the parking space featured a statement related to the BLM movement. This is false. At no time has any Lubbock-Cooper ISD administrator or employee advised or instructed a student to remove a BLM statement from their parking space, nor are statements related to the BLM movement prohibited by the district.

The only material prohibited from being included in parking space artwork is profanity, vulgar images or statements, or references to illegal activity. These guidelines are based off of the Lubbock-Cooper ISD student dress code (which can be found in the LCISD Student Handbook).

It is possible that this inaccuracy stems from a single incident in which a student’s parking space included a BLM statement in addition to unrelated profanity. The student was instructed to remove the profanity only; and was explicitly told that the only section of the parking space which had to be removed or painted over was the profanity (which, again, was unrelated to the BLM statement). When given the opportunity to paint over the profanity, the student opted to repaint the entire parking space. Contrary to rumor, this decision was not under the direction or influence of a Lubbock-Cooper ISD administrator, but was solely at the discretion of the student and/or the student’s family.

There have been no other incidents related to parking space artwork featuring BLM statements. As previously released in a statement by the district earlier this week, we respect the rights of our students to have their own belief systems, and students are permitted to express their beliefs on their parking lot spaces.

Dr. Keith Bryant
LCISD Superintendent

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For the past four years at Lubbock-Cooper High School, students are allowed to decorate and paint their reserved parking spots before the school year begins. This year is no different.

One group of students purchased paint and decorated their connecting parking spots to spell out ’TRUMP 2020.′

Overnight their parking spaces were vandalized. Officials with Lubbock-Cooper High School say the district will seek to prosecute any individual responsible for destroying or defacing school property. There were at least 11 spots were vandalized. All of them had a Trump theme. At least one Trump-themed spot was not vandalized.

A parent of one of the students said, “My son and several of his friends spent over $750 painting their parking spots. They spent eight hours creating this. Their spaces have been completely vandalized and all boys have been threatened.”

Lubbock-Cooper Superintendent Keith Bryant said in a statement to KCBD that all parking space designs must be approved by administration before they’re painted. Political statements are not prohibited, but the designs must follow the dress code; which means the designs may not contain profanity, vulgar images or statements or references to illegal activity.

He also said political statements have been a fairly common theme among parking lot spaces each year, without issue. “The idea behind the parking lot painting project is to encourage students’ creativity and allow them another outlet to express their personality and thoughts.”

Sadie Alderson, Director of Public Information for Lubbock-Cooper ISD says the district is investigating the vandalism.

“We have students and staff with differing political beliefs; and we expect those beliefs to be respected and valued. As United States citizens, we have the freedom to disagree with one another, but it is completely unacceptable (and illegal) to vandalize property in disagreement. As a public school district, we have an obligation to protect not only our students, but their rights,” said Bryant in a statement.

Lubbock-Cooper ISD Superintendent Keith Bryant’s full statement below:

For four years, Lubbock-Cooper High School seniors have had the opportunity to paint their assigned parking spaces in the school parking lot in the weeks leading up to the beginning of their senior year of school. This is a common practice at high schools across the country. Students pay for this opportunity and provide their own supplies, no part of this is funded by the school district. Parking space designs must receive prior administrative approval. Administrative approval is based on the same guidelines which dictate the Lubbock-Cooper ISD student dress code (which can be found in the LCISD Student Handbook). In short, parking space designs may not contain profanity, vulgar images or statements, or references to illegal activity. Political views and statements are not prohibited in the LCISD student dress code, and are not prohibited parking space designs. The idea behind the parking lot painting project is to encourage students' creativity and allow them another outlet to express their personality and thoughts. Political statements have been a fairly common theme among parking lot spaces each year, without issue.

We respect the rights of our students to have their own belief systems, and students are permitted to express their beliefs on their parking lot spaces. This year, the LCHS parking lot features multiple political statements, some of which are considered by many to be traditionally opposing stances.

We will not tolerate destruction or defacement of any Lubbock-Cooper ISD property, regardless of personal opinion. The district will seek to prosecute any individual responsible for destroying or defacing school property.

We have students and staff with differing political beliefs; and we expect those beliefs to be respected and valued. As United States citizens, we have the freedom to disagree with one another, but it is completely unacceptable (and illegal) to vandalize property in disagreement. As a public school district, we have an obligation to protect not only our students, but their rights.

Keith Bryant
Superintendent of Schools
Lubbock-Cooper ISD

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