Local and state NAACP leaders are calling for continued pressure after a Tuscaloosa County students organized a walkout and made numerous allegations of racism in local schools.

A Hillcrest High School senior, Jamiyah Brown, says student complaints still are not being taken seriously after a Feb. 8 walkout. The Tuscaloosa NAACP now recommends county residents withhold approval for a proposed property tax increase to fund school improvements on Feb. 14. And state advocates say the issue, which grew out of debate about a Black HIstory Month program, shows the pitfalls of Alabama’s “divisive concepts” law.

Read more: What to know before Tuscaloosa County’s property tax election.

Lisa Young, president of the Tuscaloosa NAACP and Brown met with district officials Monday to address student concerns about discipline disparities, inappropriate treatment from school staff and alleged censorship of a Black History Month production.

“Throughout the whole meeting that we just had, no one admitted that there was a problem,” Brown said, through tears, during a press conference Monday evening. “There is a problem.”

District officials did not immediately respond to AL.com’s request for comment Monday evening.

The local NAACP chapter now backs a student effort to protest a historic local tax vote Tuesday, which could generate about $15 million in additional funds for school improvement projects across the district.

“While we want a quality education for all students in Alabama, we cannot trust that the funds received will be used to benefit all students equally,” Young said.

Since the walkout, however, Young said officials have pulled some students out of class and have held small-group conversations. The district will select an independent contractor to investigate the allegations, but did not give Young a timeline on that process, she said.

State NAACP leaders are taking aim at legislators, as another bill to block so-called “divisive concepts” in the classroom awaits the start of the legislative session.

Educators and school board members have claimed that the bill and others like it could have a chilling effect on classroom instruction. Over the past year, educators and officials have noted several complaints about Black history events — events that officials said didn’t violate the law.

“Our legislators have put our students, and some administrators, in a position where they cannot make a rational decision about something as simple as a Black history program,” Alabama NAACP President Benard Simelton said Monday.

The Tuscaloosa NAACP will hold another forum with Tuscaloosa County students on Feb. 18 as well as a block party on Feb. 19. More information can be found on the group’s Facebook page.