Two letters were read by Clover Park School Board President Marty Schafer at the May 10, 2021 school board meeting.
Both letters favored the district’s continued pursuit of what the writers called “the journey to discovering equity and becoming anti-racist,” and the need “to dismantle the systems of oppression.”
Based upon the Freedom of Information Act, immediately upon the conclusion of the school board meeting, a formal request was made for all letters received by the school board since April 1, 2021.
The next morning, on May 11, 2021 the district responded:
“We received two public comments for the May 10, board meeting. There were no public comments for the April 12, 2021 meeting.”
Thereupon the Public Disclosure Request was closed.
However, there are in fact at least five letters that have been received by the school board over the past month; the two that were read by Schafer the evening of May 10 in support of the district’s “equity journey” and at least three other letters that are critical of that journey, calling for the school board to “focus on academics.”
Shafer even wrote in response to at least two of those three unread-in-public-session, ‘unacknowledged’ letters thanking the author.
“Your voice is important to us as is each/every voice in our community,” Shafer wrote.
But only two letters were read – only the two favoring the district’s position.
That said, three letters have not been read – the ones critical of the district’s position.
Those three letters, as far as the public’s right to know, do not even ‘officially’ exist.
Why is this?
The views expressed in this article are the writer’s own.
Another view from a privileged white male. Get out of the way, CPSD is on a journey and doesn’t have time for your games.
Are you implying in your value system that the end, CRT, justifies any means for accomplishment? How about lack of transparency? Parsing the truth? How about deceiving the public? Using the heavy hand of government? At what point would you draw the line? If CRT is so “noble” an end, why do you feel the need to defend ignoble means for it accomplishment? And what does it ultimately say about the nobility of the cause that can only be accomplished through ignoble means? Maybe it’s not so noble! You can’t have it both ways. You can’t claim elevated ends by using underhanded means.
Jon Arbeeny, you are the poster child for deceiving the public. You present as a white male though you are not white. You subscribe to white supremacy ideology, yet you will never fully be able to embody what that means. Only when it becomes convenient do you reveal your heritage while claiming to be color blind. Your life is built on assimilation and lies while subscribing to a dominant white culture that is not your own. You are a Muslim American that I am sure has some family members who are not quite American enough for you, and you look down on your people because you speak English better than they do, or your skin isn’t as dark and can pass as a white man. The same way you keep pushing the story of CRT in schools even though there is plenty of proof that says the CRT narrative is inaccurate, was created by white supremacists, and spread through an echo chamber. The narrative was created to keep equity out of schools because, in their mind, equity is only for black and gay students. The ones you feel comfortable othering. You are a sad case and can be read like a book. You prove you don’t know what CRT is, nor do you understand the term equity. in every post, you misrepresent the facts. You are willing to sacrifice all just so black children don’t benefit from having barriers that hinder their education removed. Why? Because in your mind, it preserves whiteness. You are the epitome of hypocrisy and doublespeak. Do you care about all students? Because all of your posts have been about denying the black ones equity and access while preserving whiteness which is an ideology you subscribe to but are not. The self-hate is clear. WE SEE YOU
LOL!!!!!! The ignorance of your assumptions is astounding but what else would you expect from a “woke” leftist trying to virtue signal. Are you implying that I am somehow a “traitor to my race” or ethnicity? Good luck with that. I only have to be true to myself, not the past over which I have no control. “A Muslim American”. Really??? My Syrian family background has for centuries been Eastern Orthodox Christian…..not Muslim…… and despite their olive complexion often have blue eyes. In fact they immigrated to the US, as many did over, 120 years ago to escape Muslim persecution of Christians in their home country which continues to this day. I, unlike you, am very comfortable in my own skin regardless of its color. I do not see myself as a “person of color” (can I get the color chart to see if my skin tone qualifies?) or marginalized. Yes I am a grandchild of immigrants arriving from various parts of the world but that doesn’t define who I am today. Rather I see myself as an American who becomes so because I espouse the values and principles of our great Nation. Race appears to be all important to you SM which by definition makes you the racist…………not me. WE KNOW YOU AND WHAT YOU ARE!
“Your voice is important to us as is each/every voice in our community,” Shafer wrote. Of course that is only if they agree with what is said.
I have followed with interest the interchange between David Anderson and the Clover Park School Board, particularly Board President Shafer, on the subject of Board transparency regarding Critical Race Theory and other topics since December 2021. It appears that the Board has been less than forthcoming to the public with “the truth, all the truth and nothing but the truth” regarding public opinion and Board functioning.
Transparency is a “principle”, a rule by which we operate, that supports the “value” of a government representing its public. When that transparency becomes opaque we have to wonder how that reflects on that government’s value system. You can’t claim to represent the public when it is in their best interest to see, unimpeded, how government is operating, when you conceal that operation from their view. This includes the convenient concealment of opposing voices on the Board and from the public.
So what does the Board’s lack of transparency indicate about their values? It certainly doesn’t seem that representation is high on their list. Rather it appears their opaqueness in squashing or parsing opposing opinions and any internal Board dissent is rather in favor of pushing a narrative central to their value system. And what is that narrative: Critical Race Theory (CRT), the left’s new religion and Diversity, Inclusion and Equity their “holy trinity”. It comes down to a value system that is based upon race, social engineering and indoctrination instead of providing an academically challenging educational experience for all students which prepares them for adult life, be that in the family, trades, business or on to college. Is there any question about the cause of Clover Park School District’s dismal performance as an academic institution? When you don’t have a firm grasp of the values that make the United States great, then something, like CRT, will rush into fill that void: nature abhors a vacuum.
Values matter. In fact they matter the most, beyond any “programs”, “tweeks” of the educational system or well intended but ultimately unsuccessful attempts at change. Change begins at the top: values. When you start out with a flawed set of values you can be sure that everything that follows will be flawed. Is there any doubt that values play an important role in the present state of CPSD academic standing? We are coming up on an election for two Board seats (filing deadline 21 May 2021) on 2 November. Make sure the candidate you vote for understands the true value of education and the district to make a difference for our children, our community and ultimately our future.
In a letter published in the Suburban Times by David Anderson, dated February 10, 2021, I first became aware of the lack of transparency by the Clover Park School District Board (CPSDB). In that letter Anderson reported that at the February 8 CPSDB meeting, Director Paul Wagemann asked his fellow board members to amend the December 21, 2020, meeting minutes to include his response to prior accusations by Taniesha Lyons and Filma Fontanilla which accused him of making a racist statement. Those minutes report that discussion at the December 21 meeting included comments on the matter from Superintendent Banner, as well as every other board member, but omitted Wagemann’s defense of himself. However, at the February 8 meeting all fellow board directors denied Wagemann’s request to include his comments. Such censorship in an official record shocked me and peaked my interest in what actually occurs in CPSDB meetings.
Now I read in this letter dated May 13, 2021, that at the CPSDB meeting on May 10 Board President Marty Schafer read two letters from the public which favor the district’s pursuit of a effort to discover equity, become anti-racist and dismantle systems of oppression. In response to a Public Disclosure Request for all letters received by the board the district responded only two had been received, yet it is known that at least three others were received which were critical of the district’s position. Shafer even responded to at least two of the three, although he did not read them in public session.
My trust is severely eroded in a board which is supposed to represent full deliberation and diversity of opinions in our community for the benefit of our children and our future. Let us all heed the caution “Democracy dies in darkness.”
The lack of transparency by the School District is apparent. I would like to see the content of the three ‘missing’ letters printed in the Suburban Times.
Wow. Fox News has rotted the brains of the boomers in Lakewood and their gen x fan boys virtue signaling to their god the dump truck in Florida. When I see the code words like CRT, it’s obvious that they just watched tucked Carlson and got their panties in a bunch. Freedom to troll is what we’re seeing. I know the trolls were hungry so I brought some popcorn