Minneapolis school board member vs. school principal

Chris Stewart has a history of calling folks racist, and then following up by dodging the question, failing to provide evidence, and deflecting the issue in general. He used to operate and write his blog (hotamericansausage) where he would... well, you just won't believe it. He failed to take ownership for his writings, and he probably won't be responsible in this case either.

"He did not personally witness the exchange between Stewart and Principal Cadotte, but spoke to others who did" The problem I have with this story (here and in the Strib) is the third hand "parents said" sourcing. The sources haven't witnessed the incident, so they are not able to relay what was actually said, or what the principal's response was (for example, if he responded f*** off, wouldn't that be legitimate grounds for suspension, regardless of what set it off?) This entire process of district changes is flowing with elaborate rumors and high emotions. Clearly the Burroughs confrontation/suspension is a dramatic turn of events, but boiling this story down to "I heard Stewart called us all racist", followed by "Stewart twice avoided answering the question" really plays to the sensationalistic and leaves a lot of questions on the table.

I was at a meeting at Burroughs with school board members and families. I was among several parents who suggested that uprooting an existing minority population from the school in order to simply replace it with a different minority population from across the city made little or no sense. The disruption caused would be harmful not only to the evicted students, but to the rest of us who consider these children part of our extended family. Guess what? I was accused of being a racist. I don't know the name of the woman from the school board who was running the meeting, but she said to me "Are you saying you prefer hispanic children to black children?". My response was a vigorous "no" - and I tried to explain to her that we "prefer" not to completely disrupt childrens' lives, and tear apart the fabric of our school. That we don't "prefer" any race or color children - we "prefer" to try and keep our school community together. I guess the writing was on the wall that crying racist was going to be part of the school board's strategy for screwing up one of the best functioning schools in the district. Amazing.

Anyone who knows Tim Cadotte knows that Mr. Stewart's accusations are unfounded. Mr. Stewart is not serving the public and should be removed from office immediately. In fact, if he is a reflection of the Board, perhaps the entire Board should be investigated. Stewart is a law suit waiting to happen and citizens should be infuriated by his continued irresponsible accusations.

I am a MPS district teaching manager at another school, and made some comments aloud about how dangerous I think Stewart is… ON MY OWN TIME...my boss threatened my job as a result. That's how insular, draconian, badly managed this place is. Free speech is not allowed, even OFF THE CLOCK. Other employees have told me the same threats have been made towards them recently if they "don't get with the program". Please--voters, mayor, anybody! The district is being led by a corrupt "mafia". I witness gross mismanagement, embezzlement, nepotism, and discrimination against gays, non-christians, latinos, the "wrong" black families, and anybody not connected to the "mafia". Top leaders and Stewart are conservative christians who hate anybody who is not just like them. They are homophobic in the extreme (hence firing a gay principal) too. I'm not gay, but lets just say I have heard many slurs from those people. And too, slurs against Somali families, jews, and otherwise. Worse yet, they are busy hiring friends, giving contracts to buddies and church pals, and forcing out anybody who isn't just like them. Its very ironic indeed that Stewart calls for tolerance and claims he is against racism and discrimination, because he thinks people like me are going to burn in hell because we are not christian, or black enough for him. Yes, I'm mixed race but I prefer to believe I am of all races. If you care at all about the schools succeeding, don't let this hate-filled environment pass. The time is now to get this district investigated top to bottom. For racism, for embezzlement, for mismanagement, for religious intolerance, nepotism. We teachers and staff care about doing a good job and teaching kids--alot! Please don't let a few managers and board members destroy this institution. We are so afraid of this mafia, but I know in time they will blow themselves up. Their hatred will show in full ugly glory.

I too was at that meeting at Burroughs several weeks ago, when the Burroughs community was just becoming aware of the enormity of the changes that the district was planning to make under their Changing School Options plan. At that meeting, Dr. Marianne Norris, a district associate superintendent, answered parents' questions about the upcoming changes to MPS. When the issue of diversity came up (and the district's opinion that Burroughs needed to increase its diversity), several parents questioned why, if the district was concerned about Burroughs' lack of diversity, did it take away its NLL program just months prior. Parents also suggested that a simple and reasonable way to increase diversity would be to reinstate that program, which was left largely in-tact while it was being "phased out." Dr. Norris' response to this suggestion was to "paraphrase" Burroughs parents' opinions as such: "so Burroughs would prefer hispanic children over African-American children." Parents were aghast. This is NOT what parents were suggesting. To hear Dr. Norris characterize our suggestions as such was shocking. At the time, I thought it was an utterly careless comment. Now I wonder if there was more to it. As this story develops, I see that the idea that Burroughs is "racist" may have been held by the district well before the Burroughs' community started to really get engaged in the CSO debate. If I am wrong, and the district does not see the Burroughs community as "racist", then I challenge them to step up and do something to dispell the incendiary charges that have been leveled against not only our principal, but our community at large.

I want to begin by saying that we'd like to have our school principal Mr. Cadotte back, putting him on administrative leave for the exchange with Mr. Stewart is a waste of our time and money and is disruptive to the school and the community. I was at the meeting where Marianne Norris accused a member of the audience for chosing Hispanics over African American students. It was obvious to the audience that she was missing the point the parent was trying to make regarding the disruption that could be avoided by retaining the already existing hispanic population as part of the diversity plan. It appears to me that the District is using the 'race card' as an excuse to push its' highly unpopular "Changing School Options" agenda.

At Maxfield Magnet in St Paul. We have submitted a link to our whistleblower blog to the Twin Cities media outlets (including this one), in hopes of some independent investigating. We are trying to do this sensitively and responsibly in a way that doesn't destroy our school community, but with the complex race issues involved... There was a staff firing bloodletting on Wednesday at Maxfield, and a dark, brooding cloud hung over our "festivities" today for the "Grand Opening" of the Target Heart of America "library makeover". While the staff that has been fired and cut are all white, it isn't a simple black/white race thing going on. Maxfield has more African American teachers than any school we've ever been in, yet a majority of them are on their way out too--targeted by the principal and District adminstrators for standing up to their bogus "Afrocentric" school reform plans for Maxfield. They've also driven out the African American parent leaders who objected to the hiring of Green, the new this year PTO president, last year's co-chairs of the PTO, stacked the site council with their toadies. It is SO shocking the SPPS allows this to go on, but I guess that it what happens when everyone is scurrying for cover for their bad decision making and passing of the bucks (hint hint--we're talking about you SPPS Board members), and abrograte your responsibilities as an elected officials because you fell in love with cutesie rock star superintendent you hired. What Carstarphen did to destroy this school during her tenure is heartbreaking. So, you MPS folk have our sympathy & solidarity. Maybe we should form a support group? Sincerely, Your friends!

I think it is interesting that so many folks reacted to this incident with knee-jerk and defensive reaction ("I'm not racist!!! How dare anyone suggest that I am!"). I'm a white person, but I know it is entirely possible, as thoughtful and well-meaning as I'd like to think I am, to make comments that reflect the privilege of being white in this society. I'd love the person (white, black, Asian, Hispanic) who is truly free of racism of any kind, to step forward and make that claim. I'll nominate you for sainthood. When Dr. Norris asked that question about whether the community preferred Hispanic children to black children, it is because of what had been said in that meeting--comments that did reflect racism (unintended, perhaps, but racism just the same). The idea that "diversity" can come from having just one program for a different racial group in your school is racist. It is based on the assumption that all racial differences are fungible. I don't need to increase the black population in my school if I have a program for Hispanic students. That's nonsense, hurtful, and yes, it is racist. That doesn't mean the people who believe it are bad, evil people, but yes, they were saying racist and hurtful things. Dr. Norris called it as she saw and heard it. If you disagreed, you could speak up (and people did). But I challenge you to think about what you heard--I think she was right to summarize it the way she did. The program that was being phased out at Burroughs was too small to be a good use of the limited District resources--surprise surprise, there weren't a lot of Hispanic students attracted to Burroughs. But a number of parents at that meeting thought that program was all they were required to do in the name of "diversity." No wonder Dr. Norris summarized the sentiment in a sharp way--sometimes you've got to be stunned out of your complacency. And the complacency about race and what diversity really means was on display that night. As fas as Cadotte is concerned, he got into a shouting match with a Board member in the school during working hours. If you got into a shouting match with your boss's boss, would you be surprised to find you were being given a "time out"--even if the boss's boss was a jerk? Good grief--even if Stewart should not have been elected to the school board, he is in the position of power. If Cadotte didn't have tenure, and had to compete under the rules that apply in the private sector, he wouldn't be on paid leave right now--he'd have been fired for insubordination.

Goodness--look at the black pot there! :) Listen, there are SERIOUS issues at stake here that have absolutely nothing to do with your tired & backward looking, divisive race baiting to protect privleged, pampered, sell out African American education administrators milking the system for all it is worth, who are surrounded by pathetic "yes we will" folk of your apparent ilk. They are the problem, not the solution. MPS district teaching manager above has it about right. Go here and see why: http://www.blackagendareport.com/?q=content/black-church-and-hollowing-out-black-politics Some white educators in the trenches are working in solidarity with a Black Agenda Report progressive frame of mind, not a "white privlege" suburban one. Some of us have been in the trenches a long while, pre-Bush era even!--AND seen the damage first hand this supposedly "Afrocentric" faith based gravy train has actually done to the poorest and most vulnerable kids. Or maybe you hadn't heard about the 10 year old black kid from MA who committed suicide because of gay bashing bullying by his "good kid" peers. Which is why some of us are pushing so hard for the anti-bullying legislation this year. While the snooty, superior black church folk turn the other way while it happens. Guess where children learn this stuff? Hint--it ain't at school. I, and most of my urban educator colleagues happen to back every aspect of the African American Covenant--just not the faith based part. It was a whole lot easier to get on board with American Indian community leaders when they were pushing for change--at least their elders and leaders aren't as insufferably smug and judgmental and cruel and homophobic and misogynist as their African American counterparts in the culutrally based education reform advocacy movements. And did we mention we don't like Stewarts' anti-union and pro-voucher campaigning either? No? Well, we don't. You see what happened to Q Comp in Forest Lake for merit pay? Oh, sorry teachers of high merit--we ran out of that bonus money we owe you. But please, don't raise your voice with me--I'M A BOARD MEMBER. Sorry for the rants, but it was a long week with St Paul Politico High Kings and Queens at Maxfield. People got fired this week--not their positions cut or transferred or put on an improvement plan--flat out fired. And then had to be all smiley and nice when the "executives" paraded through gushing over Belinda Green's implementation of a tough love Afrocentric faith based reform plan to save the children of Maxfield from White Privlege Do Gooding. Funny, we thought the kids were there so we could teach readin' writin' and 'rithmetic, not indoctrinate them on behalf of the black church. Did we mention Belinda Green is a minister at St Peters in Mpls? Yeah. She's flock tending both sides the river now. We're just waiting with breath held to see how the test scores will sky rocket now that the kids are starting each day reciting their daily Afrocentric "I am Somebody" pledges, and getting the Good Words of Green. Praise the Lord. Think it ain't happening? Think again. We can't FORCE them to actually say the I am Somebody pledge, of course. But explain that to a first grade Hmong or Latino kid when the teacher and every kid in the room is reciting it.

I know and have worked for Tim Cadotte in the past. If all other principals were as hard-working and selfless as he is, the Minneapolis Public Schools would have fewer things to worry about. The parents are arguing for their school, for their children. From what I understand, the district wanted to phase out the Hispanic NLL program and replace it with a different multicultural program. The school and the students have embraced the current program. It is part of the school. Friendships have developed. Parent-staff relationships have grown. Scrapping all that just because the school board deems the program to be the "wrong" kind of diversity seems pointless to many. Proceeding to call anyone who disagrees with the board a "racist" is simply a political maneuver. I'm curious as to why Stewart isn't also on administrative leave. Hurling incendiary accusations and participating in said shouting match during school hours shows poor judgement on his part, and he should be held to the same high standard. Is race an issue in school district policy and debates? of course it is, but labeling and accusations are a poor substitute for discussion and the sharing of ideas. Maybe the board is right. Maybe changing the program would be best for the school in the long run, but their tactics can only be described as bullying.

Because of what Dr. Norris took the comments about the nll program to mean, does that then mean that she is anti Hispanic and therefore could be equally called "racist"? I hate the careless use of the word racist and feel sick about it's overuse recently, and it's connection with Burroughs and it's Principal .

Is how I view this. We are undergoing the same at Maxfield in St. Paul, but at a much more pronounced level. The ELL program is being abolished next year, after several years of a concerted effort by the St Paul Public Schools African American community's very effective campaign to drive all the neighborhood Latino, African immigrant, and Asian families out of the school. When you take a stand against it to advocate for the immigrant families, you are branded a racist by the African American staff--but the Maxfield administration in particular. The District ELL program cowers in fear and silence, knowing they will be branded as racists by African American district administrators in a heartbeat. Bill Green can call for calm all he wants, but the reality is this: how long are we the citizens going to allow the right wing, reactionary African American district administrators to run our city schools with these abusive, racially divisive bullying and intimidation tactics?