Petition against MI School Board member stirs up controversy

The petition was started by a local student in response to past social media posts made by school board director Jody Lee.

A petition is calling for a Mercer Island School Board member to be excluded from graduation ceremonies for the Mercer Island High School class of 2025.

The petition was started by a local student in response to past social media posts made by school board director Jody Lee. As of press time Monday, the petition on change.org had garnered 530 signatures.

Specifically, the petition cites Lee’s posts that include profanity, references to alcohol and cannabis use, sexual remarks, and “likes” on social media related to the conflict in Gaza.

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The Reporter verified the identity of the student — and the student’s parents — who started the petition. The student told The Reporter: “With graduation approaching, I felt it was wrong for someone whose public behavior contradicts our district’s values to represent us. Board member Lee’s antisemitic posts and inappropriate content promoting drug use and sexual content have made many students feel disrespected and uncomfortable at a time that should be about celebrating students’ achievements, not the controversy of a board member. I’m hoping her presence is reconsidered so the focus can remain on the students. I chose to remain anonymous because I expected backlash from the district, including some teachers.”

At a meeting May 22, former Mercer Island City Councilmember Tom Acker urged the school board to take a unified stand against antisemitism, referencing a “Stand with Us” event and a recent shooting incident in D.C. He cited the student-led petition with nearly 500 signatures at the time. Acker criticized the board’s inaction and said that deferring to the lack of a social media policy was unacceptable, emphasizing, “You’re all leaders. You have a role in the community.”

The graduation ceremomies will be held June 16 at McCaw Hall. The petition can be found at change.org/p/remove-jody-lee-from-graduation-platform.

Statement from Jody Lee

Three school board members have issued public statements in response, including Director Jody Lee, whose entire statement is below:

“I want to start by addressing the accusations of antisemitism that have been leveled against me. These accusations stem from a few posts I liked or reposted in fall of 2023 expressing dismay at civilians being injured or killed in Gaza, and from a friend on faculty at a university upset that his students were tear-gassed while nonviolently protesting. I did not stop to think about how these words might strike those in our local Jewish community. Even when first called to account for these posts, I still did not fully understand their impact. But I do now.

“To anyone, most especially those in the Jewish Community, who has experienced pain as a result of those posts, I am deeply sorry. I have had conversations with some, while others have chosen not to engage with me. I have learned how my choice to like or repost those words, given my leadership role in the community, had and continues to have a negative impact on many.

“It is possible for multiple things to be true at the same time. I can mourn for the innocents assaulted and killed in Israel on October 7; I can be constantly aware of the historical suffering of Jewish people – including my own family members, some of whom narrowly escaped the Holocaust and some of whom did not; and I can still also be deeply upset by the loss of civilian lives, including the lives of children, during military actions in Gaza.

“As I said in my statement in February, I understand now that when I joined the board, I should have been more mindful of how posts I made or interacted with on my personal social media might be interpreted in light of my new role. Moving forward, I pledge to be much more aware of how my online activity may be perceived.

“While I am an elected official and school board director, I am also human, for better or for worse. I am also a mom to two amazing sons – one of whom still attends Mercer Island High School. The past four months of online and in person verbal attacks have been very difficult for me and my family.

“I am a parent and volunteer in our schools and community, no different from many here on island who give hundreds of hours of their lives to make our schools a better place for all of our kids.

“I am a proud band mom, a reader, a hiker, a dog lover, and a friend. These are the parts of my life that shape who I am and how I show up in every space I’m part of. As a school board director, I remain deeply committed to supporting our students, staff, and families. Over the past nine years, as a volunteer, I have worked hard to put students first. I ask for a chance to regain your trust, if lost, as I return to focusing on that work.”

(Editor’s note: Lee also addressed the issue in a letter to the editor that ran in the Mercer Island Reporter in Feb. 2025.)

Other responses

Board President Maggie Tai Tucker issued a public statement in response to the graduation planning, with an excerpt below:

“The board has been made aware of a petition started by an MIHS senior requesting that the board ban Director Lee from attending graduation on June 16 due to the content of some of her personal social media posts. I wanted to make clear to the public that graduation counts as a board meeting. We cannot, and would not, ban any board member from attending any board meeting for any reason. It would be a violation of state law and would expose the board to the possibility of a lawsuit. I also wanted to clarify that the role of the board at graduation consists of … sitting on the stage. As of last year, board members no longer hand diplomas to the graduates. Of course, students have a right to express themselves. But there are some limits to how disruptive an act of protest can be in an educational setting. We’ve asked for a report on what the plans and guidelines are so far.”

Director Cristina Martinez issued a public statement as well with an excerpt below:

“Personal social media content, even if controversial, does not in itself violate board policy or governance rules, unless it breaches confidentiality, incites harm, or obstructs official duties. Free speech protections do not disappear for public officials in their personal lives. That’s not a loophole — that’s constitutional law. If you believe that a board member’s conduct violates legal or ethical standards, the path forward is available: gather evidence, file a complaint, or begin a recall process under state law. But if the concern is personal disagreement with someone’s beliefs, we must be careful not to confuse disagreement with disqualification.”

At the May 22 board meeting, Director Dan Glowitz commented: “It is unsurprising that many people find some of Director Lee’s public posts offensive. Nonetheless, I believe this is primarily a matter between her and the wider Mercer Island community.”

Mercer Island resident Linnea Augustine contributed to this report.