Advertisement Taking the opportunity during the board member comments portion of the meeting, Elizabeth Kamprud and Tim Medinger railed against the decision not to show the speech.
“I was shocked and surprised to learn that school does not broadcast or announce any speeches during the school hours of the president of the United States,” Kamprud said. “It doesn’t matter who’s in there but I was very surprised. My son, who is in high school, did not know anything about a speech. I was disappointed that that office, no matter who resides there, isn’t given the honor it deserves.”
District Superintendent Dale Carlson said the district’s position was neither to hold district nor school-wide viewings of the speech, nor to prohibit individual teachers from showing it.
Some parent’s did call and request students not see the speech.
“I don’t want to make it seem as if there were one or two hundred such calls,” Carlson said, adding that he personally responded to between three and five e-mails or phone calls from concerned parents.
Some Republicans accused the president of using the speech as a means to push a political agenda on a captive audience. Some Wisconsin school districts opted not to show it at all.
“I kind of wanted to talk to the kids about staying in school,” Medinger said in jest, referring to the content of the Obama speech. “Oh wait, can I talk about that? What are my political beliefs? Am I allowed to talk about that? Oh, wait, am I not an elected school board official? It sounds crazy, doesn’t it? I think that’s absolutely ludicrous.
“I think elected officials have been talking to school children probably since George Washington,” Medinger continued. “I think that regardless of political beliefs, it’s a very sad day and a concerning statement about the state of our country when we cannot respect the office of the president of the United States. The simple fact that this is even an issue amazes me.
An unnamed district employee who is in position to know said Holmen Middle School received numerous calls on Sept. 4 by parents who did not wish their children to view the Sept. 8 speech.
At Onalaska Middle School, students watched the speech as an all-school assembly. Middle school Principal Roger Fruit said that decision was made for two reasons: because officials feared a Web cast of the speech streamed to classrooms would crash the school network and because they felt the president’s message on the value of education was an important one.
“It had application to exactly what we’re trying to do ... that’s what school is all about,” Fruit said. “Our whole society needs more people talking about education.”
Fruit said the school did receive calls from a few parents who didn’t want their children to see the speech, but no more than for any health-related or political topics in the past.
The speech was viewed at the end of the day, with staff providing no follow up discussion.
“One thing parents are concerned about ... is that we’re not over-interpreting any messages,” Fruit said. “Information is presented ‘as is’ and students are allowed to talk about it, and we encourage them to go home and talk to their parents about it. The interpretation came from the parents.”
Onalaska elementary schools taped the speech and showed it the next day, Fruit said.
“At each level there’s different expectations,” Fruit said. “We had some positive comments from parents. Parents want the opportunity to know what’s going on. It’s our job to inform them.”
School board pay
Referring to comments he made at last month’s annual meeting, Medinger again voiced displeasure that the board was not taking up the issue of its classification of, and payment for, monthly special meetings.
The Holmen School Board has one regular meeting each month and a scheduled “special meeting” each month — except for July. However this year, a special budget meeting was called in July.
Medinger voted against the pay increase recently at the annual meeting.
By the reporter’s estimation, the majority of those voting in favor of the increase were either board members or district employees and the motion for the increase was made by a former board member.
“I do not feel that given the current state of the economy, given the fact we’ve asked the departments to cut budgets, that this is a very prudent time to (raise board members compensation),” Medinger said.
Medinger then read the administrative rule on special meetings which states special meetings must be individually requested, and are necessary because all board business can’t be conducted during regular meetings.
“Some of you may not realize that this is a special meeting tonight,” Medinger said. “It is a meeting between the regular meetings. I don’t know what’s so special about the meeting tonight. It seems like a regular business meeting to me and we’re conducting regular business at this meeting.”
Medinger said he was disappointed that his request to have a review of the board’s policy on special meetings at the next meeting was ignored.
“In my opposition to this, I will no longer be accepting any compensation for special meetings,” Medinger said.
At the annual meeting, citizens voted to approve raising board members’ salaries from $1,800 per year to $2,000 and raising to $60 the amount for each “posted, special meeting,” from $55. That motion passed on a voice vote with at least four dissenting n Medinger included.
Board President Cheryl Hancock seemed to agree that the first special meeting of the month has become a de facto regular meeting.
Neither Hancock nor any other board member commented on the issue at Monday’s meeting.
