The Dryden Community School Board in Dryden, Michigan, has appointed Carl Austin Miller Grondin, 23, as a board member.
He will fill a spot left open by an elected board member who resigned for a new job. The term ends on Dec. 31, 2024. The school board decided not to elect a replacement and blindsided parents by simply appointing him.
Dryden is a tiny school district that serves a rural Lapeer County area. It only has two schools in total.
Carl is an LGBTQP+ activist who has repeatedly described himself as “mentally ill.” He is a student at Michigan State University [MSU], where he is politically active on campus. He is part of the group RISE, which works to influence elections by getting more young people and Blacks out to vote.
The local media has given him positive press coverage.
Many community members have expressed outrage over his appointment after seeing what was on his social media accounts. In the past two days, he has deleted his entire Tik Tok account, which had over 100k followers. He made accounts on other platforms private.
“I want to be the person I never saw growing up in Dryden as the only openly LGBT kid. A ton of the administrators like (Dryden Junior/Senior High School principal and district superintendent) Mary Finnigan were constantly encouraging me and were great, but my experience would have been even better if I saw someone like me to look up to.” – Carl Austin Miller Grondin
