Just how transparent is your school district?
The education children are receiving today may surprise most
parents. Many assume that if a school
looks great from the outside, great things must be happening on the inside. One thing is certain; we spend way too much
money on education and the results are pathetic. It is estimated that the state
of Minnesota will spend $17.7 billion on education in 2015. Total spending in 2014 for South Washington
School District 833 was over $250 million.
With such large amounts of cash flowing into local school districts, the
opportunity for wasteful spending and misallocation of funds has proven to be
too much of a temptation for many teachers and administrators.
An article in the Star Tribune placed a spotlight on
questionable spending in the Minneapolis school district when it was found that
nearly half of expense reports lacked supporting documentation, even though
this was against district policy. Tenure allows these people to remain
handcuffed to the classroom so breaking a few rules isn’t much of an issue. To obtain the information necessary to shine
the light on this wasteful spending, the Star Tribune made use of a data request
under Minnesota Statutes Section 13.43. The
data request can also be a powerful tool for the average citizen, allowing them
to become a watchdog over their local school district.
How you can put the data practices act to work in your school district
Guidelines on how to request data from a government entity
can be found on the website for the Information Policy Analysis Division or
IPAD. According to IPAD, under the DataPractices Act (Minnesota Statutes, Chapter 13), you have the right to request
information from a government entity. If you are seeking information regarding
yourself or your minor child (in data practices terms, you are referred to as
the data subject), you have the right to access the data free of charge.
Advocating for your child becomes even more important when you or your child
have been bullied or manipulated by administrators, special education teachers
or school psychologists. The
manipulation of parents and taxpayers needs to be exposed so that we can
advocate for students and our community.
School districts are required to have a Data Practices
Compliance Official and the district must keep all data in such a way that it
is easily accessible to the general public. Examples of written requests may be
found on the IPAD website. Districts may require you to fill out a simple form
which can be mailed or faxed to the Compliance Official. You may request to inspect data free of
charge before making the decision to request digital or hard copies of the information.
If you or your children are the subject of a data search, the school does not
have the right to charge you for searching and retrieving the information and may only charge for the actual
cost of making, certifying and compiling of copies.Data requests are a good way to keep tabs on the dirty little secrets districts love to hide. However, don’t be surprised, if during the course of inspection, unexpected issues arise. Problems receiving data, especially if it’s for a controversial subject that may jeopardize the integrity of the school district may be experienced. When this occurs, an appeal may be made to the state IPAD agency for an advisory opinion. IPAD does not have the authority to force the district to comply with the decision but you will then have the option to file a complaint in district court or with the Office of Administrative Hearings.
Confronting District 833
Efforts by school administrators to control information parents receive became very obvious with the South Washington County School District in February 2013. On the morning of February 14, 2013, distressed East Ridge High School students began texting parents asking questions and expressing complaints about feeling uncomfortable and indoctrinated. After receiving a phone call from a parent complaining that a militant group, The Black Panthers, was being commemorated over the intercom during morning announcements, parent activists were moved to action.
Because East Ridge is a public high school, one would think
retrieving the actual announcement would be as simple as calling the office and
requesting a copy of the script. Office
staff is usually more than happy to comply.
In attempting to do so, the staff was hamstrung by roadblocks put up by
administrators who were not comfortable revealing the details of what was read
that morning. Multiple calls were made
by many concerned citizens (a number of whom were members of the Tea Party
Alliance) asking the district to release the announcement to the parent of a
student attending East Ridge High School.
The parent was called after school was dismissed later that afternoon with the promise an envelope containing the announcement would be made available at the school’s front desk. Upon arrival at the school the parent found the front desk area abandoned and no one in the office staff would answer repeated knocks on the main office door. Not easily dissuaded, the parent drove to the athletic entrance and made her way to the office. Office staff greeted her with blank stares and said that there was no envelope. Not wanting to go away empty handed, the parent asked to speak to the Athletic Director. During this discussion with office staff, the Principal stood close to the distressed mother watching the discussion transpire without once coming forward to assist. Only after getting a hold of the Athletic Director was the announcement made available outside the school walls.
The morning announcement read over the PA system that Valentine’s Day was a commemoration of the two radical founders of the Black Panther Party - Huey Newton and Bobby Seale. Part of the announcement included a poem of declaration….”I pledge allegiance to my black people……” The inappropriate way in which a topic of this nature was brought forward to the unsuspecting students, faculty, and staff was reason to disseminate the details to the citizens of the community and the press.
This blog and national talk show host Jason Lewis were instrumental in providing the
community, state and nation with information regarding the situation. In the
days following the East Ridge announcement commemorating Bobby Seale and Huey
Newton, the district received numerous calls and e-mails from the community
questioning how and why a subject of this nature was communicated in such an
inappropriate manner. The group that
raised the issue with the morning announcement were called racists and asked
why they were against Black History Month.
The administration and school board said that the ERHS Principal had been
receiving threats from those who responded with concern; friends, members of
the local GOP and Tea Party members. Those
accused could not let such innuendos go unchallenged. In response to the accusations, a data
request was submitted for the threatening emails and their corresponding police
reports, pursuant to Minnesota Statutes Section
13.43, subdivision 1.
The
heavily redacted emails received from the district as a result of the data
request were an insult to the parents and students of District 833. The Principal asked directly in one email, if
one of the accused parents had a concern about “celebrating Black History
Month.” Additional emails between the
Principal and the District Communication’s Director indicate concerns over A MN
Hockey Mama’s blog. Administrators seemed
to be attempting to guess the identity of whoever was responsible for the
dissemination of this story, in an attempt to redirect blame and minimize their
own lack of oversight. A school board
meeting on April 25, 2013 was quite revealing when the mother of an Occupy WallStreet radical made a statement supporting the Black Panther announcement. A savvy member of the group of parents that
raised the original concern made and interesting connection while viewing the
school board meeting online. The result
was a story by Meredith Jessup of The Blaze.
From the Black Panthers to finances - Data requests reveal District 833 secrets
Watchdogs continued to hound the district and
the results have been fruitful. In
November of 2014, Principal Aaron Harper of East Ridge High School resigned
after he allegedly used taxpayer money to purchase iPads, retail shopping
memberships, gift cards and other items.
He is now facing a criminal investigation for maintaining a “slush fund”
from students parking fee revenues. Data
requests submitted by the South Washington County Bulletin to District 833 in
November were finally released after an appeal to the state IPAD agency. The appeal was required to declare the data
as public, in opposition to the district’s claim that the data was not in the
public domain.
Data requests for campaign finance reports from
the “Vote Yes” Committee in 2013, revealed non-compliance with campaign finance
law and a complaint was filed with the Office of Administrative Hearings. The “Vote Yes” committees are well funded
campaigns that receive thousands of dollars from teachers unions, principal
associations and construction companies. These funds allowed the “Vote Yes”
Committee to hire an attorney to represent them during the hearing. The judge ruled in favor of the “Vote Yes”
Committee but the data request bore much fruit.
The “Vote
Yes” Committee received a $2,500 donation for the construction company
Kraus-Anderson. Kraus-Anderson has
completed over 200 K-12 education projects totaling $700 million in the past
five years in the state of Minnesota. Construction
projects in South Washington County include East Ridge High School and the
addition to Bielenberg Sports Center. Interestingly, a multi-million dollar “no-bid”
contract was awarded to Kraus Anderson by District 833 for construction of a
new middle school and other projects within the district.
The battle continues
The resignation of 11 administrators from
District 833 over the last several months, the censure of a school board member
and concerns over proposed tax increases have led to more data requests.
Members of our political activists group received a tip that
there was a connection between the censure of a South Washington County School
board member and the censure of school board members in Farmington and
Duluth. The mystery was revealed when an
activist in another part of the state reported that the law firm representing
South Washington County was also representing the school districts of
Farmington and Duluth. In an article from the lincolndemocrat.com (1-11-15),
“Censure is Infectious”, the author takes the law firm to task calling them
“generously paid character assassins.”
Should a law firm have the authority to remove
wayward board members who refuse to toe the line? Fear of censure or the embarrassment of
removal should not be a consequence for disagreeing with the administration.
These political witch-hunts are often pressed by the school administration and
majorities on school boards who wish to purge trouble makers. Local control will be lost if law firms and
the federal government control our schools rather than an elected school board.
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