No Pride Month recognition for Hillsborough school board this year

Tampa Bay Times | By Divya Kumar | June 26, 2025

District leaders have recognized Pride Month each June since 2021. Not this year.

At the second school board meeting of June, the Hillsborough County School Board issued a recognition for Juneteenth.

But amid a scuffle with the state over library books, including some with LGBTQ+ themes, many noticed something else missing: a recognition of Pride Month.

From 2021 to 2023, the school board made proclamations recognizing June as Pride Month, which commemorates the Stonewall Uprising of 1969 and celebrates the LGBTQ+ community. The board has also regularly passed an October proclamation for LGBTQ+ history Month.

Last year, the nonpartisan board, made up of Democrats and Republicans, switched from proclamations to recognitions, which don’t require an individual vote.

Several speakers confronted the board about the lack of a Pride recognition at its June 17 meeting.

Hillsborough resident Samira Burnside said making a symbolic gesture does nothing to change how schools are run.

“It is not a stand against the conservative legislature, and it does little other than make it known that queer kids across the county have their schools care,” Burnside said. “If this school board can’t even recognize this month, then how will they treat our trans kids in the new year? How will they recognize how we respond with book banning requests once they’re made of them? I don’t want to find out.”

Jack Forsyth, a donor engagement coordinator with Equality Florida, told the board about the bullying he faced growing up.

“A simple recognition of Pride Month shows the thousands of young, struggling kids and families that it’s okay to be who they are, creating a defining moment in their lives that will stick with them forever,” Forsyth said. “It’s not special treatment. It’s simply honoring that the LGBTQ community hasn’t always been accepted, but we’re changing that. The same way you recognize Juneteenth.”

In closing statements, several board members acknowledged the month. Karen Perez said she stood “in solidarity with our students, teachers and staff.”

“In a world where some face discrimination based on their ethnicity, culture or who they love, it’s crucial that everyone in our community feels acknowledged, valued and respected and embraced,” she said. “Know that this board member is committed to creating an inclusive environment where diversity is celebrated and everyone’s supported for who they are.”

Board member Lynn Gray said she believed the proclamation should have been put forth but that it was “another discussion, for another day.”

A spokesperson for the district said the district had not issued any proclamations for a couple years, but declined to immediately answer why Pride was not recognized.

Other districts, like Pasco and Pinellas have not made similar proclamations, and in 2023, Polk County voted to do away with all proclamations.

Board chairperson Jessica Vaughn also expressed her disappointment in the lack of formal recognition, but said she expected the LGBTQ History Month recognition to happen in October.

“Hillsborough County Public Schools is home to a beautifully diverse community, and every person in this community, I want you to know you belong here,” she said. “I believe that pride is for everyone, not just those who identify as LGBTQ+, because pride is about standing together, honoring human dignity and recognizing that our differences make us stronger.”