Board president apologizes for 'Indian' comment

The president of the school board says she's sorry for a comment she made during Superintendent Carol Lark's evaluation last month.

"What I said was wrong, period," Cindy Trigg said on Monday in a phone interview. "My feelings on leadership have nothing to do with gender, race or religious preference."

At Lark's evaluation on June 17, Trigg warned board members that allowing insubordination against the superintendent could send the wrong message to employees and future superintendents.

"You can't let them think that the Indians are running the camp," Trigg said at the meeting.

The comment later spurred a flurry of criticism, ranging from letters to the editor to comments on The R-C Web site.

On Monday, Trigg said she plans to make a formal apology at the July 14 board meeting at Lake Tahoe.

"I made the statement in public, and I want to make the apology in public," she said. "I want to sincerely apologize to anyone who was offended and to the Native American community."

Trigg said at the time of the comment, the adage, "too many chiefs and not enough braves," popped into her head.

"It was not my intent at all to offend anyone," she said. "I couldn't get the words out correctly in the heat of the moment."

Trigg, who earlier this year announced a 2010 run against Rep. Dean Heller for U.S. Congressional seat 2, acknowledged that some of her political opponents are taking advantage of her verbal slip.

"There are some people taking advantage of it, but the bottom line is that it was wrong," she said. "Whether they are politically taking advantage of me, that's just part of being on the public stage. It's not my intention to wiggle out of it, or blame anyone for blowing it out of proportion. I was wrong, and I humbly apologize."

Trigg said she'll learn from the mistake.

"When you're wrong, it's best to learn from the mistake and move forward," she said.