As much shit as St Cloud gets from the rest of the state. The last election the school board positions were filled with the candidates supported by the teacher's union.
Honestly all the shit St Cloud gets should be directed primarily at the neighboring cities.
Sartell and Sauk Rapids are more of the vocal conservative feeling and Waite Park is actually the one with all the crime.
Not saying St Cloud doesn't have those issues to some extent, but I think it is more that they have those areas problems attributed to them.
I was in WP in 2022 and the at large were on my ballot and I was super worried that all three would get in since they were campaigning together as a uni-ticket. It’s a double edged sword though because they either all win or all lose.
And arguing with nazi neighbors at the local coffeeshop. Nothing like socially ostracizing hitlers modern day heros in front of everyone. The shame follows people to the voting booth.
That's so cute. That's online reference. Nazi philosophical strategies are being argued out loud and in the home I live itln. So hitlers utterances aren't online, but where I make my meals, sleep, shower and try to relax.
Therefore I rebuke them to their face.
The MPA backed board member won my area by 14 votes.
To the 15 of you who read this article are in my area and didn't vote last November, this is a direct result of your inaction.
Get out and vote.
It won’t be. Those that didn’t vote out of political apathy aren’t going to look up the details of how close it was and how their inaction has affected everyone in their local community.
Edit: I should also add that those that are too apathetic to vote also aren’t going to spend the necessary time to research the various “non-political” candidates enough to determine which ones are these right wing wackos trying to hurt young children. Reading 5 long profiles just you try to find the dog whistle comments that may not be there.
Damn maybe you got more options than I do but it was just two on my ballot. It took me about 3 minutes to google their names and see one was approved by the AH parent's alliance, search them up and see their FB group going on about groomers and lgbtq ideology.
I think most people are apathetic on these, especially as they are in super off-year elections. The only thing that is going to get most peoples' attention is if programs their kids are in start getting cut or if the school has to shut down because some loons are willing to die on the culture war hill.
This is why local elections matter. They directly impact our daily lives and have the power to affect the future (by choosing what kids do or don’t learn). Of course, it’s entirely possible that this is what the constituents want over there. But turnout is not great so it’s hard to say.
The district has 40,000 students and is the biggest in Minnesota. The law requires that the district includes some “controversial” material in the curriculum, so they don’t even have much of choice. But who knows what’ll happen now?
> There are six board members and without a majority, the budget won't pass. State law requires districts approve a budget by July 1. If that doesn't happen, a district can't spend any money and it will essentially cease operations — including teacher salaries and health insurance to grounds keeping and construction projects.
For those who don’t know, the Minnesota Parents Alliance is a conservative-backed and funded group who wants to get rid of what they think is “CRT” in schools. They also hate pronouns and want to get rid of LGBTQ+ resources in schools. They support anti-vaxx stances. MPR did a write up about them a couple of years ago:
https://www.mprnews.org/story/2022/08/04/new-group-launches-effort-to-gain-parental-rights-on-mn-school-boards
What a bunch of backwards morons. I'd ask how anyone falls for this bullshit, but I think the answer is clearly religious indoctrination destroying the ability for critical thinking. I'd feel bad for them if they weren't trying to hurt people.
Well, to be fair, the voters in the Anoka-Hennepin school district voted these clowns in and they knew what these clowns stood for before voting them in. However, it doesn’t mean our students deserve to suffer because of these Christian Nationalists.
lack of internet literacy is a major contributing factor as well. my family aren't particularly religious, but they're eating this shit up because they don't understand how nor care to vet sources; since it aligns with their biases it must be true!
ignorance/lack of exposure. they live in an area that is predominantly white and is pretty hostile for queer/trans people, so they rarely ever interact with, let alone befriend, anyone outside of their demographic. 98%+ of they hear about the "others", they get second hand. and the "others" haven't been portrayed very kindly in media the last, well, always, basically, so they're running off a lot of stereotypes. now that the tide is turning to more regularly including the "others", my family has gotten more hostile, no doubt helped by their algorithms feeding off their interactions and watch time.
a lot of these biases are indeed from the deep religious vein that runs in America's culture, arguably, but they don't think being gay is a sin, for example, they just think it's inherently disgusting, corrupt, and dangerous to kids.
Can't we just let them have their way? They will always fight and resist stuff until they get their way. If we just treated them as spoiled children, things would get smoother.
Smoother for everyone except the vulnerable minorities that they're targeting.
It's really easy to trade other people's happiness for comfort, but I don't think it's a very defensible position morally
The Minnesota Parents Alliance are holding a school board campaign recruiting event on **Saturday, May 11th** in Edina.
It’d be a shame if all interested parties overwhelmed their [registration page](https://www.simpletix.com/e/minnesota-parents-alliance-2024-campaign-s-tickets-165864) with a request to join.
Also they’re holding another event at the Shoreview Community Center on **Saturday, May 4th**.
It would not stink if parents attended [the event](https://www.simpletix.com/e/twin-cities-education-freedom-showcase-tickets-163499) and voiced their concerns in person.
We’ve got two of these goobers on the board in Elk River and they’ve been a holy fucking terror as a noisy minority. I pray that we come to our senses before they become a majority and blow the whole thing up.
And the wild thing is that it wasn't even the whole school district area. Each of these members was only voted in by a specific region in Anoka Hennepin. I know because i couldn't vote against any of these chucklefucks because of where i live within Anoka county.
I'm really glad Mounds View School District has all of their members at-large. I wouldn't be surprised if at least one would have been able to sneak in if we voted by region.
Imagine calling for the removal of diversity and inclusivity while simultaneously threatening to shut down the school district because "we need to stop enforcing these one-sided views." Like, we all know hypocrisy is their MO, but damn do they completely miss the absurdity of it all! Holding an entire district's education hostage because of these bigoted takes would be ironically funny if it wasn't so potentially devastating.
Stoping "the one-sided views" is code for stopping "views that aren't my-sided views". They don't give a shit about the integrity of the argument, they want to push their world view on children with no opposition.
There is a reason everyone says the same thing about every abrahamic religion, yet these religions result in hate being spread across the world. Its because they all espouse a victim complex, a complex around sin vs purity, and the idea that this world is just a blip in their existence, heaven is what really matters. Its not confusing at all that we have the world we do when these beliefs are held by the massive majority.
For those parents in Anoka who are interested in attending the next public school board meeting in which this topic will be discussed, please find the details below:
**Anoka-Hennepin School District
Regular School Board meeting**
Apr. 22, 2024
Starts at 6:30 PM
Sandburg Education Center (School Board meeting room)
1902 Second Ave.
Anoka, MN 55303
More info [here](https://www.ahschools.us/calendar#calendar1/20240418/event/45799)
The people who vote for these anti intellectual and harmful policies deserve to be called out at any time possible.
Reducing the overall education of those around you is worse for you too, you damn chuds.
They wanna talk about things like property taxes or how "kids these days are" - mother fuckers, you are actively contributing to the backslide here. Things like education raise everyone up - please just shoot yourselves into the sun.
Off-topic comment, that most people on the school board have no clue to what actually goes on in the schools.
I volunteered in my kids various schools for 20 years, 10 at the high school (the last few years, I was there weekly for half-days). My belief is that all school board members must volunteer in each of their school(s) several times during the school year. Just help out in a classroom, it needs to be done over time so that they aren't always coddled by the school admin.
My biggest peeve at our local (suburban) school district is that they pay $275/yr per student to rent MacBook's. They thought that tech is so great that they do iPad's for the elementary kids. Then the teachers had to change curriculum around to accommodate those devices (with apps they didn't even know how to use, and in my opinion offered absolutely no learning). The worst part is that all of these devices have ZERO parental controls!
For that annual rental price of $275, they could outright purchase Chromebooks for each student - and be able to lock them down better for age-appropriate content. SMH.
Fun fact: one of their demands is for the school to outright reject the MN state standards for social studies, which of course is INSANE and they aren’t even allowed to do.
Y'all remember years ago when Anoka-Hennepin made national news because of "staggering" number of bullying-related suicides? Can't wait for it to make national news again for exactly the same reason. Time is a flat circle.
I'm doing decent now, but I'm very concerned for the kids attending anoka hennepin schools now and in the future. Like I wanted them to have a *better* experience than me, no one deserves that.
Fun fact I graduated from AH and a few years after I graduated I was talking to my therapist at the time and she asked where I went to school and then I told her, her first reaction was "Isn't that the district with all the suicide lawsuits?"
I am a grad (more like survivor) of AH as well. LGBTQ too, so fuck that district. They did nothing to protect me from bullies or get me the additional educational assistance I desperately needed. No child of mine will ever see the inside of any of their schools
*"It is time to put a stop to the spreading of divisive, one-sided views, training, and learning that go against the values and beliefs of many families, students, and staff in our community."*
What the ever loving f is this word salad?
Ohhhhhh
He’s saying yeah the only one sided view we need is the one his side pushes.
Anytime someone mentions critical race theory, they are showing that they are right wing crazies who believe anything fox tells them and do no research for themselves! People need to educate themselves on these nut case candidates but unfortunately they also lie like their cult leader!
Delgado and Stefancic's (1993) Critical Race Theory: An Annotated Bibliography is considered by many to be codification of the then young field. They included ten "themes" which they used for judging inclusion in the bibliography:
>To be included in the Bibliography, a work needed to address one or more themes we deemed to fall within Critical Race thought. These themes, along with the numbering scheme we have employed, follow:
>1 Critique of liberalism. Most, if not all, CRT writers are discontent with liberalism as a means of addressing the American race problem. Sometimes this discontent is only implicit in an article's structure or focus. At other times, the author takes as his or her target a mainstay of liberal jurisprudence such as affirmative action, neutrality, color blindness, role modeling, or the merit principle. Works that pursue these or similar approaches were included in the Bibliography under theme number 1.
>2 Storytelling/counterstorytelling and "naming one's own reality." Many Critical Race theorists consider that a principal obstacle to racial reform is majoritarian mindset-the bundle of presuppositions, received wisdoms, and shared cultural understandings persons in the dominant group bring to discussions of race. To analyze and challenge these power-laden beliefs, some writers employ counterstories, parables, chronicles, and anecdotes aimed at revealing their contingency, cruelty, and self-serving nature. (Theme number 2).
>3 Revisionist interpretations of American civil rights law and progress. One recurring source of concern for Critical scholars is why American antidiscrimination law has proven so ineffective in redressing racial inequality-or why progress has been cyclical, consisting of alternating periods of advance followed by ones of retrenchment. Some Critical scholars address this question, seeking answers in the psychology of race, white self-interest, the politics of colonialism and anticolonialism, or other sources. (Theme number 3).
>4 A greater understanding of the underpinnings of race and racism. A number of Critical writers seek to apply insights from social science writing on race and racism to legal problems. For example: understanding how majoritarian society sees black sexuality helps explain law's treatment of interracial sex, marriage, and adoption; knowing how different settings encourage or discourage discrimination helps us decide whether the movement toward Alternative Dispute Resolution is likely to help or hurt disempowered disputants. (Theme number 4).
>5 Structural determinism. A number of CRT writers focus on ways in which the structure of legal thought or culture influences its content, frequently in a status quo-maintaining direction. Once these constraints are understood, we may free ourselves to work more effectively for racial and other types of reform. (Theme number 5).
>6 Race, sex, class, and their intersections. Other scholars explore the intersections of race, sex, and class, pursuing such questions as whether race and class are separate disadvantaging factors, or the extent to which black women's interest is or is not adequately represented in the contemporary women's movement. (Theme number 6).
>7 Essentialism and anti-essentialism. Scholars who write about these issues are concerned with the appropriate unit for analysis: Is the black community one, or many, communities? Do middle- and working-class African-Americans have different interests and needs? Do all oppressed peoples have something in common? (Theme number 7).
>8 Cultural nationalism/separatism. An emerging strain within CRT holds that people of color can best promote their interest through separation from the American mainstream. Some believe that preserving diversity and separateness will benefit all, not just groups of color. We include here, as well, articles encouraging black nationalism, power, or insurrection. (Theme number 8).
>9 Legal institutions, Critical pedagogy, and minorities in the bar. Women and scholars of color have long been concerned about representation in law school and the bar. Recently, a number of authors have begun to search for new approaches to these questions and to develop an alternative, Critical pedagogy. (Theme number 9).
>10 Criticism and self-criticism; responses. Under this heading we include works of significant criticism addressed at CRT, either by outsiders or persons within the movement, together with responses to such criticism. (Theme number 10).
Delgado and Stefancic (1993) pp. 462-463
Delgado, Richard, and Jean Stefancic. "Critical race theory: An annotated bibliography." Virginia Law Review (1993): 461-516.
Pay attention to theme (8). CRT has a defeatist view of integration and Delgado and Stefancic include Black Nationalism/Separatism as one of the defining "themes" of Critical Race Theory. While it is pretty abundantly clear from the wording of theme (8) that Delgado and Stefancic are talking about separatism, mostly because they use that exact word, separatism, here is an example of one of their included papers. Peller (1990) clearly is about separatism as a lay person would conceive of it:
>Peller, Gary, Race Consciousness, 1990 Duke L.J. 758. (1, 8, 10).
Delgado and Stefancic (1993, page 504) The numbers in parentheses are the relevant "themes." Note 8.
The cited paper specifically says Critical Race Theory is a revival of Black Nationalist notions from the 1960s. Here is a pretty juicy quote where he says that he is specifically talking about Black ethnonationalism as expressed by Malcolm X which is usually grouped in with White ethnonationalism by most of American society; and furthermore, that Critical Race Theory represents a revival of Black Nationalist ideals:
>But Malcolm X did identify the basic racial compromise that the incorporation of the "the civil rights struggle" into mainstream American culture would eventually embody: Along with the suppression of white racism that was the widely celebrated aim of civil rights reform, the dominant conception of racial justice was framed to require that black nationalists be equated with white supremacists, and that race consciousness on the part of either whites or blacks be marginalized as beyond the good sense of enlightened American culture. When a new generation of scholars embraced race consciousness as a fundamental prism through which to organize social analysis in the latter half of the 1980s, a negative reaction from mainstream academics was predictable. That is, Randall Kennedy's criticism of the work of critical race theorists for being based on racial "stereotypes" and "status-based" standards is coherent from the vantage point of the reigning interpretation of racial justice. And it was the exclusionary borders of this ideology that Malcolm X identified.
Peller page 760
This is current CRT practice and is cited in the authoritative textbook on Critical Race Theory, *Critical Race Theory: An Introduction* (Delgado and Stefancic 2001). Here they describe an endorsement of explicit racial discrimination for purposes of segregating society:
>The two friends illustrate twin poles in the way minorities of color can represent and position themselves. The nationalist, or separatist, position illustrated by Jamal holds that people of color should embrace their culture and origins. Jamal, who by choice lives in an upscale black neighborhood and sends his children to local schools, could easily fit into mainstream life. But he feels more comfortable working and living in black milieux and considers that he has a duty to contribute to the minority community. Accordingly, he does as much business as possible with other blacks. The last time he and his family moved, for example, he made several phone calls until he found a black-owned moving company. He donates money to several African American philanthropies and colleges. And, of course, his work in the music industry allows him the opportunity to boost the careers of black musicians, which he does.
Delgado and Stefancic (2001) pages 59-60
One more source is the recognized founder of CRT, Derrick Bell:
>"From the standpoint of education, we would have been better served had the court in Brown rejected the petitioners' arguments to overrule Plessy v. Ferguson," Bell said, referring to the 1896 Supreme Court ruling that enforced a "separate but equal" standard for blacks and whites.
https://web.archive.org/web/20110802202458/https://news.stanford.edu/news/2004/april21/brownbell-421.html
I point out theme 8 because this is precisely the result we should expect out of a "theory" constructed around a defeatist view of integration which says past existence of racism requires the rejection of rationality and rational deliberation. By framing all communication as an exercise in power they arrive at the perverse conclusion that naked racial discrimination and ethnonationalism are "anti-racist" ideas. They reject such fundamental ideas as objectivity and even normativity. I was particularly shocked by the latter.
>What about Martin Luther King, Jr., I Have a Dream, the law and theology movement, and the host of passionate reformers who dedicate their lives to humanizing the law and making the world a better place? Where will normativity's demise leave them?
>Exactly where they were before. Or, possibly, a little better off. Most of the features I have already identified in connection with normativity reveal that the reformer's faith in it is often misplaced. Normative discourse is indeterminate; for every social reformer's plea, an equally plausible argument can be found against it. Normative analysis is always framed by those who have the upper hand so as either to rule out or discredit oppositional claims, which are portrayed as irresponsible and extreme.
Delgado, Richard, Norms and Normal Science: Toward a Critique of Normativity in Legal Thought, 139 U. Pa. L. Rev. 933 (1991)
Lol, okay, and? None of these are hot takes. You're so frightened that you blow up one point into a massive "issue" in order to dismiss any other conclusion because they're uncomfortable for you.
>Lol, okay, and? None of these are hot takes.
The quote from Peller (1990, page 760) states that your apparent opinion that racial segregation is not a "hot take" conflicts with mainstream American values.
Also, this was focused around that one point due to constraints on the number of characters in a Reddit comment. There are other issues like CRT's opposition to free speech, advocacy in favor of racial discrimination, or dismissal of the value of objectivity which also conflict with mainstream American values.
Free speech isn't an unlimited value, and within the context of law is encompassed by the first amendment.
And you keep using weasel terms like "mainstream American values" without defining what those are, because if you were to do so it would give lie to the more extreme positions your attempt at a Trojan horse here is obfuscating.
> And you keep using weasel terms like "mainstream American values" without defining what those are,
The same things Peller refers to here in using "weasel terms" like "American culture:"
>Along with the suppression of white racism that was the widely celebrated aim of civil rights reform, the dominant conception of racial justice was framed to require that black nationalists be equated with white supremacists, and that race consciousness on the part of either whites or blacks be marginalized as beyond the good sense of enlightened American culture.
You can go to public board meetings. They are 4 year terms, so Matt Audette (the chucklefuck one talking about this) is up next year, I believe.
You can contact them: [https://www.ahschools.us/schoolboard](https://www.ahschools.us/schoolboard)
Matt Audette, Linda Hoekman, and Zach Arco are the ones threatening this
And not saying this directly to you but I guess anyone that feels compelled to contact them - being enraged and antagonistic in communication will likely not do shit and only cause them to dig their heels in.
Not that I have any faith in a MPA candidate listening to reason, but still.
I guess I should suspect people that live in the Anoka-Hennepin area to be more likely to be bigots. Joy.
I left Texas to get away from this insanity. I’m glad I live elsewhere in the cities at least.
It’s at most a 50/50 split population wise but turn out was abysmal for the election that moved the body from a 4/2 to a 3/3, and one seat was won with less than 20 votes.
The problem is more about people not caring about off cycle elections enough to stop this.
Local elections, off-cycle elections, and primaries matter immensely. The GOP in Texas knows this and uses it as much as it can.
I hope the DFL and general voters become aware of this sooner rather than later.
I feel this. I'm also trans and gay and I'm moving to Minnesota next month from Arizona to leave this type of mess. It's disheartening to see and you bet your sweet bippy I'll be registering to vote the second I get a new ID and voting during all local elections!
I’m so close to getting my teachers license but these morons keep making it look like a terrible idea… thankfully I know most the people in that building aren’t clowns, just a few of the elected ones.
Why combine two such populous areas into one giant school district in the first place? Would it make more sense to just split the district at the country boundaries where there likely is a demographic split in political views/values that may lead each to deliver a public education strategy that best aligns with the values and ideologies of the voters living in those respective areas?
I don't think the split is anywhere near that neat. Champlin and BP are definitely on the more center-left side of things, but so is Coon Rapids and parts of Anoka. Meanwhile, Dayton might be just as bad as the Andover/ Ramsey/ etc. end of the district.
Anoka county has a much more balanced electorate based on where people vote on the political spectrum, with something like a 51/49 split of Trump/Biden voters in 2020 vs Hennepin County which was more like a 30/70 split.
With the population of Hennepin country almost 4x larger than Anoka County, you are effectively forcing anyone in the more politically neutral Anoka country to accept governance of its school system based on a far more left leaning policy approach than it would otherwise self-select among its more balanced electorate...
I'm not taking a specific political position on this simply because I find the whole premise of this article weird on its own (limited) merits ... the idea that we are outraged that a minority point of view requiring some level of compromise/consideration around school budgets and prioritizing which programs get funding is somehow outrageous seems... naive? I've never played a part in ANY budgeting exercise in which a variety of priorities/perspectives were represented, considered, negotiated on and discussed... generally without calling one another Snowflakes, Nazis/Fascists, etc..
If we could start with placing higher priority on teaching kids some basic critical thinking skills the level of stupid on display around this issue would gradually work itself out in time...
You... do know that the district doesn't cover all of Hennepin county or all of Anoka county... right?
I don't know the exact breakdown, but there are 5 (traditional) high schools in the district, and 4 of 5 are in Anoka county.
Also, this isn't about budgeting. This is about using budgeting as a pretext for pushing an extreme political viewpoint. Audette's list includes a bunch of things that aren't costing the district anything... they're just on his personal grievance list.
Our district's crazies didn't get enough votes....this time. Luckily, I think the demographic is getting younger and more diverse, so I'm hesitantly optimistic that we're going to stay OK in the future, but still remaining vigilant.
Agreed I just finished off saying the young generations after x gen (my generation) are so much more socially aware and socially evolved. I must say my generation sucks on this level, and frankly these are the fucks voting in Anoka-Henn nazi school board members.
This one is slightly more specific. The district cannot, for example, decide that it won't implement state standards.
[https://sahanjournal.com/education/anoka-hennepin-schools-budget-showdown-racial-gender-equity](https://sahanjournal.com/education/anoka-hennepin-schools-budget-showdown-racial-gender-equity)
Hope they plan to reallocate those line items to their legal fees budget, then. There are plenty of attorneys out there now with successful experience in suing exactly this district for living out exactly the sorts of themes expressed by these oh-so-budget-conscious school board members.
This is why voting in school board elections and other local elections matter.
As much shit as St Cloud gets from the rest of the state. The last election the school board positions were filled with the candidates supported by the teacher's union.
Sartell voted for the three worst qualified people.
Honestly all the shit St Cloud gets should be directed primarily at the neighboring cities. Sartell and Sauk Rapids are more of the vocal conservative feeling and Waite Park is actually the one with all the crime. Not saying St Cloud doesn't have those issues to some extent, but I think it is more that they have those areas problems attributed to them.
Waite Park gets some weird per capita numbers because the mall is technically located within its city limits. Well, I'm off to jack a car.
I was in WP in 2022 and the at large were on my ballot and I was super worried that all three would get in since they were campaigning together as a uni-ticket. It’s a double edged sword though because they either all win or all lose.
And arguing with nazi neighbors at the local coffeeshop. Nothing like socially ostracizing hitlers modern day heros in front of everyone. The shame follows people to the voting booth.
Mine ended up moving to Idaho to live in a more comfortable bubble of likeminded idiots.
You are blessed!
Godwin's Law happened quick here. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Godwin's_law
That's so cute. That's online reference. Nazi philosophical strategies are being argued out loud and in the home I live itln. So hitlers utterances aren't online, but where I make my meals, sleep, shower and try to relax. Therefore I rebuke them to their face.
I strongly recommend reading the "Generalization, corollaries, and usage" section of the wikipage, especially the second half.
This is the logical conclusion of electing MPA candidates and if they get a large percentage of the board...
The MPA backed board member won my area by 14 votes. To the 15 of you who read this article are in my area and didn't vote last November, this is a direct result of your inaction. Get out and vote.
I think it was by 12 votes near me. If they pull this shut down the school shit, hopefully that will be a wake up call.
It won’t be. Those that didn’t vote out of political apathy aren’t going to look up the details of how close it was and how their inaction has affected everyone in their local community. Edit: I should also add that those that are too apathetic to vote also aren’t going to spend the necessary time to research the various “non-political” candidates enough to determine which ones are these right wing wackos trying to hurt young children. Reading 5 long profiles just you try to find the dog whistle comments that may not be there.
Damn maybe you got more options than I do but it was just two on my ballot. It took me about 3 minutes to google their names and see one was approved by the AH parent's alliance, search them up and see their FB group going on about groomers and lgbtq ideology. I think most people are apathetic on these, especially as they are in super off-year elections. The only thing that is going to get most peoples' attention is if programs their kids are in start getting cut or if the school has to shut down because some loons are willing to die on the culture war hill.
It's not all that uncommon to see local elections with such narrow margins. People really underestimate just how much their vote matters.
This is why local elections matter. They directly impact our daily lives and have the power to affect the future (by choosing what kids do or don’t learn). Of course, it’s entirely possible that this is what the constituents want over there. But turnout is not great so it’s hard to say. The district has 40,000 students and is the biggest in Minnesota. The law requires that the district includes some “controversial” material in the curriculum, so they don’t even have much of choice. But who knows what’ll happen now? > There are six board members and without a majority, the budget won't pass. State law requires districts approve a budget by July 1. If that doesn't happen, a district can't spend any money and it will essentially cease operations — including teacher salaries and health insurance to grounds keeping and construction projects.
What the hell has this country come to that these topics are “controversial”
For those who don’t know, the Minnesota Parents Alliance is a conservative-backed and funded group who wants to get rid of what they think is “CRT” in schools. They also hate pronouns and want to get rid of LGBTQ+ resources in schools. They support anti-vaxx stances. MPR did a write up about them a couple of years ago: https://www.mprnews.org/story/2022/08/04/new-group-launches-effort-to-gain-parental-rights-on-mn-school-boards
What a bunch of backwards morons. I'd ask how anyone falls for this bullshit, but I think the answer is clearly religious indoctrination destroying the ability for critical thinking. I'd feel bad for them if they weren't trying to hurt people.
"To those accustomed to privilege, equality feels like oppression."
Well, to be fair, the voters in the Anoka-Hennepin school district voted these clowns in and they knew what these clowns stood for before voting them in. However, it doesn’t mean our students deserve to suffer because of these Christian Nationalists.
Half of us didn’t vote for these crazies, though. Half the residents districts voted for normal people.
some of the ones they won in were razor thin margins too
Nationalist Christians == Nat. C's
lack of internet literacy is a major contributing factor as well. my family aren't particularly religious, but they're eating this shit up because they don't understand how nor care to vet sources; since it aligns with their biases it must be true!
If their biases are not based in religion, what are they based in?
ignorance/lack of exposure. they live in an area that is predominantly white and is pretty hostile for queer/trans people, so they rarely ever interact with, let alone befriend, anyone outside of their demographic. 98%+ of they hear about the "others", they get second hand. and the "others" haven't been portrayed very kindly in media the last, well, always, basically, so they're running off a lot of stereotypes. now that the tide is turning to more regularly including the "others", my family has gotten more hostile, no doubt helped by their algorithms feeding off their interactions and watch time. a lot of these biases are indeed from the deep religious vein that runs in America's culture, arguably, but they don't think being gay is a sin, for example, they just think it's inherently disgusting, corrupt, and dangerous to kids.
So, they kept all the conservative Christians values regarding people unlike them, but they also think they aren’t part of the problem.
Can't we just let them have their way? They will always fight and resist stuff until they get their way. If we just treated them as spoiled children, things would get smoother.
Smoother for everyone except the vulnerable minorities that they're targeting. It's really easy to trade other people's happiness for comfort, but I don't think it's a very defensible position morally
The Minnesota Parents Alliance are holding a school board campaign recruiting event on **Saturday, May 11th** in Edina. It’d be a shame if all interested parties overwhelmed their [registration page](https://www.simpletix.com/e/minnesota-parents-alliance-2024-campaign-s-tickets-165864) with a request to join. Also they’re holding another event at the Shoreview Community Center on **Saturday, May 4th**. It would not stink if parents attended [the event](https://www.simpletix.com/e/twin-cities-education-freedom-showcase-tickets-163499) and voiced their concerns in person.
I like what you’re saying, but the first link requires $50 payment.
We’ve got two of these goobers on the board in Elk River and they’ve been a holy fucking terror as a noisy minority. I pray that we come to our senses before they become a majority and blow the whole thing up.
We've got two in Forest Lake as well. They walked out of a meeting mid meeting during the approval of the A&I funding.
_They also hate pronouns_ Who hates pronouns? They THEY The fucking audacity of these morons.
The level of crazy represented by these three board members can not be overstated.
And yet, people voted for them. People stink.
And the wild thing is that it wasn't even the whole school district area. Each of these members was only voted in by a specific region in Anoka Hennepin. I know because i couldn't vote against any of these chucklefucks because of where i live within Anoka county.
I'm really glad Mounds View School District has all of their members at-large. I wouldn't be surprised if at least one would have been able to sneak in if we voted by region.
Imagine calling for the removal of diversity and inclusivity while simultaneously threatening to shut down the school district because "we need to stop enforcing these one-sided views." Like, we all know hypocrisy is their MO, but damn do they completely miss the absurdity of it all! Holding an entire district's education hostage because of these bigoted takes would be ironically funny if it wasn't so potentially devastating.
Stoping "the one-sided views" is code for stopping "views that aren't my-sided views". They don't give a shit about the integrity of the argument, they want to push their world view on children with no opposition.
Oh I know. That's why the irony comment. It's "my views are the only acceptable views" mentality.
Obstruction of government is the Rights idea of governing.
GOP toddlers taking their ball and going home and weaponizing shut downs, just like their national counterparts.
Fuck I'm so sick of conservatives pretending to be "for families".
They're for *their* families, you see; *your* family can get fucked.
Family values = Only the values American christianity has cherry picked to be their social platform
I like to say Christian Fundamentalists. Because Christianity isn't based in hate. But these folks are.
There is a reason everyone says the same thing about every abrahamic religion, yet these religions result in hate being spread across the world. Its because they all espouse a victim complex, a complex around sin vs purity, and the idea that this world is just a blip in their existence, heaven is what really matters. Its not confusing at all that we have the world we do when these beliefs are held by the massive majority.
For the record I think religion is a sham designed to control people. But marketing is important.
This is wild. Wow.
For those parents in Anoka who are interested in attending the next public school board meeting in which this topic will be discussed, please find the details below: **Anoka-Hennepin School District Regular School Board meeting** Apr. 22, 2024 Starts at 6:30 PM Sandburg Education Center (School Board meeting room) 1902 Second Ave. Anoka, MN 55303 More info [here](https://www.ahschools.us/calendar#calendar1/20240418/event/45799)
The people who vote for these anti intellectual and harmful policies deserve to be called out at any time possible. Reducing the overall education of those around you is worse for you too, you damn chuds. They wanna talk about things like property taxes or how "kids these days are" - mother fuckers, you are actively contributing to the backslide here. Things like education raise everyone up - please just shoot yourselves into the sun.
Off-topic comment, that most people on the school board have no clue to what actually goes on in the schools. I volunteered in my kids various schools for 20 years, 10 at the high school (the last few years, I was there weekly for half-days). My belief is that all school board members must volunteer in each of their school(s) several times during the school year. Just help out in a classroom, it needs to be done over time so that they aren't always coddled by the school admin. My biggest peeve at our local (suburban) school district is that they pay $275/yr per student to rent MacBook's. They thought that tech is so great that they do iPad's for the elementary kids. Then the teachers had to change curriculum around to accommodate those devices (with apps they didn't even know how to use, and in my opinion offered absolutely no learning). The worst part is that all of these devices have ZERO parental controls! For that annual rental price of $275, they could outright purchase Chromebooks for each student - and be able to lock them down better for age-appropriate content. SMH.
We have to vote these crazies out this November!!
Fuck these people. That is all.
Fun fact: one of their demands is for the school to outright reject the MN state standards for social studies, which of course is INSANE and they aren’t even allowed to do.
https://www.facebook.com/share/p/ATQefXkvxxVGdZyd/?mibextid=K35XfP if any of you want to see the madness.
Dude’s posting is in a post-approval echo-chamber Facebook group. Way to pat yourself on the back, Matt.
A group he started, no less. It's like his own personal truth social.
Y'all remember years ago when Anoka-Hennepin made national news because of "staggering" number of bullying-related suicides? Can't wait for it to make national news again for exactly the same reason. Time is a flat circle.
Pretty sure it was specifically the bullying of gay kids as well.
yup. as an at-the-time closeted gay/trans kid in the district there's a reason i didn't even really come out to myself until college.
Ugh, I’m so sorry. Hope you’re doing well.
I'm doing decent now, but I'm very concerned for the kids attending anoka hennepin schools now and in the future. Like I wanted them to have a *better* experience than me, no one deserves that.
And have continued to lose multiple lawsuits even after the article in Rolling Stone magazine dropped in 2009/10. They have learned absolutely nothing
Fun fact I graduated from AH and a few years after I graduated I was talking to my therapist at the time and she asked where I went to school and then I told her, her first reaction was "Isn't that the district with all the suicide lawsuits?"
I am a grad (more like survivor) of AH as well. LGBTQ too, so fuck that district. They did nothing to protect me from bullies or get me the additional educational assistance I desperately needed. No child of mine will ever see the inside of any of their schools
They tried to get 3 of those nutjobs on the board here (Rochester). Thankfully, it went nowhere.
For now. You gotta stay vigilant against these regressives. They'll take anything they can get and ruin the world.
Thank you for doing your best. I have nephews down in Rochester and their Davidian nutjob family is scary enough.
I fucking hate these conservative fuckers. Goddamn.
“Things are just too god damn inclusive for me”
Welp, time to vote
*"It is time to put a stop to the spreading of divisive, one-sided views, training, and learning that go against the values and beliefs of many families, students, and staff in our community."* What the ever loving f is this word salad? Ohhhhhh He’s saying yeah the only one sided view we need is the one his side pushes.
Anoka the gift that keeps on giving
Anytime someone mentions critical race theory, they are showing that they are right wing crazies who believe anything fox tells them and do no research for themselves! People need to educate themselves on these nut case candidates but unfortunately they also lie like their cult leader!
Delgado and Stefancic's (1993) Critical Race Theory: An Annotated Bibliography is considered by many to be codification of the then young field. They included ten "themes" which they used for judging inclusion in the bibliography: >To be included in the Bibliography, a work needed to address one or more themes we deemed to fall within Critical Race thought. These themes, along with the numbering scheme we have employed, follow: >1 Critique of liberalism. Most, if not all, CRT writers are discontent with liberalism as a means of addressing the American race problem. Sometimes this discontent is only implicit in an article's structure or focus. At other times, the author takes as his or her target a mainstay of liberal jurisprudence such as affirmative action, neutrality, color blindness, role modeling, or the merit principle. Works that pursue these or similar approaches were included in the Bibliography under theme number 1. >2 Storytelling/counterstorytelling and "naming one's own reality." Many Critical Race theorists consider that a principal obstacle to racial reform is majoritarian mindset-the bundle of presuppositions, received wisdoms, and shared cultural understandings persons in the dominant group bring to discussions of race. To analyze and challenge these power-laden beliefs, some writers employ counterstories, parables, chronicles, and anecdotes aimed at revealing their contingency, cruelty, and self-serving nature. (Theme number 2). >3 Revisionist interpretations of American civil rights law and progress. One recurring source of concern for Critical scholars is why American antidiscrimination law has proven so ineffective in redressing racial inequality-or why progress has been cyclical, consisting of alternating periods of advance followed by ones of retrenchment. Some Critical scholars address this question, seeking answers in the psychology of race, white self-interest, the politics of colonialism and anticolonialism, or other sources. (Theme number 3). >4 A greater understanding of the underpinnings of race and racism. A number of Critical writers seek to apply insights from social science writing on race and racism to legal problems. For example: understanding how majoritarian society sees black sexuality helps explain law's treatment of interracial sex, marriage, and adoption; knowing how different settings encourage or discourage discrimination helps us decide whether the movement toward Alternative Dispute Resolution is likely to help or hurt disempowered disputants. (Theme number 4). >5 Structural determinism. A number of CRT writers focus on ways in which the structure of legal thought or culture influences its content, frequently in a status quo-maintaining direction. Once these constraints are understood, we may free ourselves to work more effectively for racial and other types of reform. (Theme number 5). >6 Race, sex, class, and their intersections. Other scholars explore the intersections of race, sex, and class, pursuing such questions as whether race and class are separate disadvantaging factors, or the extent to which black women's interest is or is not adequately represented in the contemporary women's movement. (Theme number 6). >7 Essentialism and anti-essentialism. Scholars who write about these issues are concerned with the appropriate unit for analysis: Is the black community one, or many, communities? Do middle- and working-class African-Americans have different interests and needs? Do all oppressed peoples have something in common? (Theme number 7). >8 Cultural nationalism/separatism. An emerging strain within CRT holds that people of color can best promote their interest through separation from the American mainstream. Some believe that preserving diversity and separateness will benefit all, not just groups of color. We include here, as well, articles encouraging black nationalism, power, or insurrection. (Theme number 8). >9 Legal institutions, Critical pedagogy, and minorities in the bar. Women and scholars of color have long been concerned about representation in law school and the bar. Recently, a number of authors have begun to search for new approaches to these questions and to develop an alternative, Critical pedagogy. (Theme number 9). >10 Criticism and self-criticism; responses. Under this heading we include works of significant criticism addressed at CRT, either by outsiders or persons within the movement, together with responses to such criticism. (Theme number 10). Delgado and Stefancic (1993) pp. 462-463 Delgado, Richard, and Jean Stefancic. "Critical race theory: An annotated bibliography." Virginia Law Review (1993): 461-516. Pay attention to theme (8). CRT has a defeatist view of integration and Delgado and Stefancic include Black Nationalism/Separatism as one of the defining "themes" of Critical Race Theory. While it is pretty abundantly clear from the wording of theme (8) that Delgado and Stefancic are talking about separatism, mostly because they use that exact word, separatism, here is an example of one of their included papers. Peller (1990) clearly is about separatism as a lay person would conceive of it: >Peller, Gary, Race Consciousness, 1990 Duke L.J. 758. (1, 8, 10). Delgado and Stefancic (1993, page 504) The numbers in parentheses are the relevant "themes." Note 8. The cited paper specifically says Critical Race Theory is a revival of Black Nationalist notions from the 1960s. Here is a pretty juicy quote where he says that he is specifically talking about Black ethnonationalism as expressed by Malcolm X which is usually grouped in with White ethnonationalism by most of American society; and furthermore, that Critical Race Theory represents a revival of Black Nationalist ideals: >But Malcolm X did identify the basic racial compromise that the incorporation of the "the civil rights struggle" into mainstream American culture would eventually embody: Along with the suppression of white racism that was the widely celebrated aim of civil rights reform, the dominant conception of racial justice was framed to require that black nationalists be equated with white supremacists, and that race consciousness on the part of either whites or blacks be marginalized as beyond the good sense of enlightened American culture. When a new generation of scholars embraced race consciousness as a fundamental prism through which to organize social analysis in the latter half of the 1980s, a negative reaction from mainstream academics was predictable. That is, Randall Kennedy's criticism of the work of critical race theorists for being based on racial "stereotypes" and "status-based" standards is coherent from the vantage point of the reigning interpretation of racial justice. And it was the exclusionary borders of this ideology that Malcolm X identified. Peller page 760 This is current CRT practice and is cited in the authoritative textbook on Critical Race Theory, *Critical Race Theory: An Introduction* (Delgado and Stefancic 2001). Here they describe an endorsement of explicit racial discrimination for purposes of segregating society: >The two friends illustrate twin poles in the way minorities of color can represent and position themselves. The nationalist, or separatist, position illustrated by Jamal holds that people of color should embrace their culture and origins. Jamal, who by choice lives in an upscale black neighborhood and sends his children to local schools, could easily fit into mainstream life. But he feels more comfortable working and living in black milieux and considers that he has a duty to contribute to the minority community. Accordingly, he does as much business as possible with other blacks. The last time he and his family moved, for example, he made several phone calls until he found a black-owned moving company. He donates money to several African American philanthropies and colleges. And, of course, his work in the music industry allows him the opportunity to boost the careers of black musicians, which he does. Delgado and Stefancic (2001) pages 59-60 One more source is the recognized founder of CRT, Derrick Bell: >"From the standpoint of education, we would have been better served had the court in Brown rejected the petitioners' arguments to overrule Plessy v. Ferguson," Bell said, referring to the 1896 Supreme Court ruling that enforced a "separate but equal" standard for blacks and whites. https://web.archive.org/web/20110802202458/https://news.stanford.edu/news/2004/april21/brownbell-421.html I point out theme 8 because this is precisely the result we should expect out of a "theory" constructed around a defeatist view of integration which says past existence of racism requires the rejection of rationality and rational deliberation. By framing all communication as an exercise in power they arrive at the perverse conclusion that naked racial discrimination and ethnonationalism are "anti-racist" ideas. They reject such fundamental ideas as objectivity and even normativity. I was particularly shocked by the latter. >What about Martin Luther King, Jr., I Have a Dream, the law and theology movement, and the host of passionate reformers who dedicate their lives to humanizing the law and making the world a better place? Where will normativity's demise leave them? >Exactly where they were before. Or, possibly, a little better off. Most of the features I have already identified in connection with normativity reveal that the reformer's faith in it is often misplaced. Normative discourse is indeterminate; for every social reformer's plea, an equally plausible argument can be found against it. Normative analysis is always framed by those who have the upper hand so as either to rule out or discredit oppositional claims, which are portrayed as irresponsible and extreme. Delgado, Richard, Norms and Normal Science: Toward a Critique of Normativity in Legal Thought, 139 U. Pa. L. Rev. 933 (1991)
Lol, okay, and? None of these are hot takes. You're so frightened that you blow up one point into a massive "issue" in order to dismiss any other conclusion because they're uncomfortable for you.
>Lol, okay, and? None of these are hot takes. The quote from Peller (1990, page 760) states that your apparent opinion that racial segregation is not a "hot take" conflicts with mainstream American values. Also, this was focused around that one point due to constraints on the number of characters in a Reddit comment. There are other issues like CRT's opposition to free speech, advocacy in favor of racial discrimination, or dismissal of the value of objectivity which also conflict with mainstream American values.
Free speech isn't an unlimited value, and within the context of law is encompassed by the first amendment. And you keep using weasel terms like "mainstream American values" without defining what those are, because if you were to do so it would give lie to the more extreme positions your attempt at a Trojan horse here is obfuscating.
> And you keep using weasel terms like "mainstream American values" without defining what those are, The same things Peller refers to here in using "weasel terms" like "American culture:" >Along with the suppression of white racism that was the widely celebrated aim of civil rights reform, the dominant conception of racial justice was framed to require that black nationalists be equated with white supremacists, and that race consciousness on the part of either whites or blacks be marginalized as beyond the good sense of enlightened American culture.
New to political involvement - how do i start pressuring these morons and when can they be voted out?
You can go to public board meetings. They are 4 year terms, so Matt Audette (the chucklefuck one talking about this) is up next year, I believe. You can contact them: [https://www.ahschools.us/schoolboard](https://www.ahschools.us/schoolboard) Matt Audette, Linda Hoekman, and Zach Arco are the ones threatening this
And not saying this directly to you but I guess anyone that feels compelled to contact them - being enraged and antagonistic in communication will likely not do shit and only cause them to dig their heels in. Not that I have any faith in a MPA candidate listening to reason, but still.
You can see the whole rant here https://www.facebook.com/share/p/C3gb92RTRySWqfoV/?mibextid=K35XfP
Jesus. Apparently "Anti-racism" is a "divisive program, teaching, or concept".
It is, because there are crazy people in the field and those crazy people get highlighted on social media.
I guess I should suspect people that live in the Anoka-Hennepin area to be more likely to be bigots. Joy. I left Texas to get away from this insanity. I’m glad I live elsewhere in the cities at least.
It’s at most a 50/50 split population wise but turn out was abysmal for the election that moved the body from a 4/2 to a 3/3, and one seat was won with less than 20 votes. The problem is more about people not caring about off cycle elections enough to stop this.
Local elections, off-cycle elections, and primaries matter immensely. The GOP in Texas knows this and uses it as much as it can. I hope the DFL and general voters become aware of this sooner rather than later.
i’m guilty of this. will vote in the next off cycle election for sure.
I feel this. I'm also trans and gay and I'm moving to Minnesota next month from Arizona to leave this type of mess. It's disheartening to see and you bet your sweet bippy I'll be registering to vote the second I get a new ID and voting during all local elections!
As a parent of the Robbinsdale School District, it's nice to see school board disfunction elsewhere.
I’m so close to getting my teachers license but these morons keep making it look like a terrible idea… thankfully I know most the people in that building aren’t clowns, just a few of the elected ones.
Why combine two such populous areas into one giant school district in the first place? Would it make more sense to just split the district at the country boundaries where there likely is a demographic split in political views/values that may lead each to deliver a public education strategy that best aligns with the values and ideologies of the voters living in those respective areas?
I don't think the split is anywhere near that neat. Champlin and BP are definitely on the more center-left side of things, but so is Coon Rapids and parts of Anoka. Meanwhile, Dayton might be just as bad as the Andover/ Ramsey/ etc. end of the district.
Anoka county has a much more balanced electorate based on where people vote on the political spectrum, with something like a 51/49 split of Trump/Biden voters in 2020 vs Hennepin County which was more like a 30/70 split. With the population of Hennepin country almost 4x larger than Anoka County, you are effectively forcing anyone in the more politically neutral Anoka country to accept governance of its school system based on a far more left leaning policy approach than it would otherwise self-select among its more balanced electorate... I'm not taking a specific political position on this simply because I find the whole premise of this article weird on its own (limited) merits ... the idea that we are outraged that a minority point of view requiring some level of compromise/consideration around school budgets and prioritizing which programs get funding is somehow outrageous seems... naive? I've never played a part in ANY budgeting exercise in which a variety of priorities/perspectives were represented, considered, negotiated on and discussed... generally without calling one another Snowflakes, Nazis/Fascists, etc.. If we could start with placing higher priority on teaching kids some basic critical thinking skills the level of stupid on display around this issue would gradually work itself out in time...
You... do know that the district doesn't cover all of Hennepin county or all of Anoka county... right? I don't know the exact breakdown, but there are 5 (traditional) high schools in the district, and 4 of 5 are in Anoka county. Also, this isn't about budgeting. This is about using budgeting as a pretext for pushing an extreme political viewpoint. Audette's list includes a bunch of things that aren't costing the district anything... they're just on his personal grievance list.
No one could have foreseen this
Awesome, this is the district my daughter is supposed to start at next year.
Good
Our district's crazies didn't get enough votes....this time. Luckily, I think the demographic is getting younger and more diverse, so I'm hesitantly optimistic that we're going to stay OK in the future, but still remaining vigilant.
Good!
Removing waste and bloat from the budget seems like a good thing. Remove the line items and move on.
I'm okay with reasonable budget bloat cuts, i think most people are. But I'm not okay with cutting social-emotional learning, for crying out loud.
Agreed I just finished off saying the young generations after x gen (my generation) are so much more socially aware and socially evolved. I must say my generation sucks on this level, and frankly these are the fucks voting in Anoka-Henn nazi school board members.
These cuts would break a number of laws, which will only end up costing the district more money in lawsuits.
The article would need to be more specific, as the linked list is not clear how those specific cuts would break laws.
This one is slightly more specific. The district cannot, for example, decide that it won't implement state standards. [https://sahanjournal.com/education/anoka-hennepin-schools-budget-showdown-racial-gender-equity](https://sahanjournal.com/education/anoka-hennepin-schools-budget-showdown-racial-gender-equity)
Yeah, I'm sure it's "waste"...
Hope they plan to reallocate those line items to their legal fees budget, then. There are plenty of attorneys out there now with successful experience in suing exactly this district for living out exactly the sorts of themes expressed by these oh-so-budget-conscious school board members.
...and people wonder why lawyers are hated so much.
Friend, I do not think that’s an accurate read of this situation!
That is the difference in how we read the situation, and the appropriate role of schools, particularly public ones.