Michigan school board appoints 'unhinged' 23-year-old LGBTQ+ trustee who self-describes as having 'several mental illnesses'

Dryden Community School Board in Michigan just appointed their youngest-ever trustee, Carl Austin Miller Grondin, at age 23 and parents are outraged over his disturbing online presence. Parents aren’t upset about his age, but rather over his antics.  Active on TikTok and Instagram, Grondin describes himself as “chaotic evil” and “unhinged” while posting pictures and videos filled with, offensive language and sexually inappropriate attire.

In a recent article about the appointment, Grondin said, “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.”

So this is the person who kids are supposed to look up to…?

But it gets worse... Let’s take a look at some of his TikToks. In this one, Grodin describes his urge to label any inconvenience to him as “homophobic”:

We are all aware of the severe societal punishment associated with being labeled as “homophobic.” People who have been accused of the sentiment have not only suffered damage to their reputation but are ousted from their communities and have even lost their livelihoods. With his 104.7 thousand TikTok followers, Grodin promotes invoking the label whenever mildly inconvenienced. Just look at the comments section from this video post.

He is already encouraging kids on TikTok to use branding people with homophobia as a manipulation tactic. School-aged children should not have an opportunity to be exposed to this type of “influence”. To make the situation even more unsettling, Grodin posted another TikTok where he describes himself as having “several mental illnesses”:

Let this sink in, the Dryden Community School Board appointed a self-proclaimed mentally-ill individual without any input from the parents in the school district! Would you want this person to have any say in your child’s education? Would you want this guy helping to set your child’s school agenda?  It makes you wonder if the school board is even vetting their trustees or simply filling diversity quotas.

One parent told Libs of TikTok, “the local school board knew the local voters would NOT vote for this freak even though he is from a well-known and influential family...so they APPOINTED him. This is not the influence we want or need on our kids.” 

Typically, Dryden school board trustees are elected. However, a vacant seat became available when board member Kelly Weier stepped down to accept employment at the district’s high school. When a parent reached out to Libs of TikTok they said, “This was announced out of the blue, and parents/grandparents are enraged.”  Grondin will serve on the board for two years during the next election cycle unless a special election is announced.

Dryden School District did not respond to Libs of TikTok’s request for comment. However, the next board meeting is scheduled for Monday, November 14th at 7 pm and the community will have an opportunity to weigh in.  “The next school board meeting is going to be interesting and well-attended,” said a parent who is planning to attend.