quote:

A superintendent in Michigan denied rumors that schools had added litter boxes to bathrooms for use by students who identified as furries.

"It is unconscionable that this afternoon I am sending this communication," Midland Public Schools Superintendent Michael E. Sharrow wrote in a post to Facebook. "However, our Midland PS stakeholders may be confused about a false message/accusation that has resurfaced this week and is gaining traction in the social media realm."

Furries are individuals who take a particular interest in anthropomorphized animals. Some who identify as furries wear animal costumes or tails.

Sharrow said the rumor was brought up by a parent during a school board meeting in December last year.

As The Morning Sun reported, at a December 20 meeting of the Midland Public Schools board, a parent said she was "disturbed" after she heard a litter box had been added for use in at least one all-gender restroom in one of the district's schools for students who "identified as cats."

"Yesterday I heard something, and I was stunned. And today, I am equally stunned," she said, according to a video of the meeting posted to YouTube.

As Insider previously reported, school board meetings across the US have become the latest "battleground" for hot-topic social and political issues.

"Our community needs to understand that the agenda that is being pushed through our schools... is somewhat nefarious when it comes to some of the activities. So let's talk about furries," the woman said, adding she planned to do more "investigation."

As The Morning Sun reported, no board members responded to the claim at the December 20 meeting, but Sharrow on Thursday dismissed it entirely.

"Let me be clear in this communication.," he wrote. "There is no truth whatsoever to this false statement/accusation! There have never been litter boxes within MPS schools."

The rumor was also spread on Facebook by Meshawn Maddock, the co-chair of the Michigan GOP.

"Kids who identify as 'furries' get a litter box in the school bathroom. Parent heroes will TAKE BACK our schools," Maddock wrote.

"It is such a source of disappointment that I felt the necessity to communicate this message to you," Sharrow said in his message on Facebook, telling parents to send him a message if they ever had a question about any "wild accusations that don't sound like something" the district would do.