Following John Hinderaker’s appearance at the September dinner program (described in a following article), defenders of the status quo lashed out.  One of the Edina School Board candidates responded with his support for “what our teachers have been doing in our schools.

This candidate went so far as to demand that all eleven candidates join him “in denouncing this unfair and disturbing attack on Edina teachers.”  He claimed that the Edina teachers are “being pushed to the breaking point.”

 “I trust our teachers to make the judgement call on what material is and isn’t appropriate for our students.  I trust our teachers to be fair and honest when having opinionated discussions in class.”

Not surprising that an avowedly liberal candidate would support liberal teachers.  But are they making fair and unbiased judgements? 

Peter Kirsanow, pictured at right,  a member of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights since 2002, thinks otherwise.

Powerline reported the following on October 7:

On Aug. 24, 2017, Peter Kirsanow … wrote to the chair of the Edina school board … He admonished the board about teachers’ “discrimination” against and “bullying” of students “with different political beliefs,” and reminded them that federal civil rights law prohibits such discrimination in public schools.

The Powerline piece went on to note the response of Edina’s school superintendent.  The superintendent indicated that the district had invited “a team of attorneys to conduct training on employee and student free speech rights and limitations, which was attended by administrators and all high school staff.”

We are recommending the election of school board members that will not denounce the concerns of parents and will verify that our trust is well placed.