Parent Jennifer Hora expressed her surprise that a controversial appearance wasn’t brought up at either Monday’s Valparaiso School Board meeting or the previous board meeting.
Hora told the board on Monday that she hoped to hear more about Lt. Gov. Micah Beckwith being chosen as the guest speaker at the career fair. Her husband assured her she wouldn’t have to raise the issue because the board would surely address it, she said, but it wasn’t on the agenda at either meeting.
“It seems like we’re now seven weeks after that event,” she said.
Parent Kristiana Roper also spoke about the April 17 career fair. Her daughter looked up Beckwith, who sparked controversy during private conversations after his speech about his disdain for the LGBTQ+ community. “She said, ‘Gosh, why did they have this racist at our school?’” Roper said.
His introduction included a phrase from his official biography, saying he was “fighting the woke agenda,” which rankled liberals.
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During the private conversations, one student recorded them on video. “He encouraged it. He likes the Charlie Kirk game of back and forth,” Roper said.
Charlie Kirk, a conservative podcaster who founded Turning Point USA, was fatally shot Sept. 10, 2025, during a debate event at Utah Valley University.
McCall cited a letter of apology he wrote to the community following the April 17 career fair.
“My apologies. We had best intentions, and unfortunately, our best practices were of a bygone time,” he told Hora and Roper. “We need to be informing parents even of our guest speakers coming in,” rather than a surprise reveal like Beckwith was.
“We understand the consternation that that caused, and we apologize,” he said.
The committee for the career fair chose Beckwith as a speaker who would discuss the state of the economy in Indiana, McCall said.
“Only after that time was done was there that part that many of our students found offensive,” he said.
The district is implementing new protocols to improve the experience in the future, he said.
After McCall’s letter of apology, Beckwith blasted back with his own statement on Facebook.
“Following my remarks, I was approached by a group of juniors and seniors eager to ask questions on a wide range of topics,” Beckwith wrote. “As always, I gladly provided answers based on my Christian faith and conservative values.”
Beckwith criticized McCall’s apology in light of the district allowing student walkouts to protest ICE at VHS, Ben Franklin and Thomas Jefferson middle schools earlier this spring.
“It sounds to me like Jim (McCall) only believes in freedom of speech when the speech in question aligns with his own political beliefs,” Beckwith stated. “This is a horrible and dangerous message to be teaching the young minds of Valparaiso Community Schools.”
The board issued a statement in April affirming its support of McCall’s position.
Other than Beckwith, the career fair had a session that was a “big waste of time,” Roper said. Her daughter went to the medical session, at which the doctor said, in effect, “What kind of doctor do you want to be? You’re not going to be able to do that with AI,” Roper said.
Hora and Roper both spoke about the AI policy at Valparaiso High School.
At six of her last six professional development sessions, Hora said, she has heard positive remarks about the use of AI. Hora teaches at Valparaiso University.
Her children at VHS, however, are bringing back negative remarks they heard at school.
“We are focused on harnessing it for good” at VU, she said.
Roper, an attorney, wants more business-friendly instruction at VHS. Just using Chromebooks to have students be proficient in Google applications isn’t good enough, she said. Want to do it proficiently? You’d better learn how to use it in college, she said.
Assistant Superintendent for Secondary Education Nick Allison said a group of teachers, administrators, central office personnel and students have been looking at AI for about 1.5 years now.
“It’s out there. We know it’s there, and we know kids are using it,” he said.
The district is working to raise awareness and train teachers about AI, but it’s also cautious, he said, wanting to convene pioneers to talk about its responsible use.
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Data breaches “just gave us more reason to pump the brakes a little bit,” he said.
Doug Ross is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.