Explicit materials in the library and equity principles are among hot-button issues discussed before Elmbrook primary
Schools have had it hard during the pandemic, with some parents wanting in-person learning and others preferring students to stay virtual.
The Elmbrook School District has also encountered a few other hot-button issues that the three candidates in the primary election Feb. 15 must be prepared to tackle, including sexually explicit material in the library and an equity principle proposal.
The field of three candidates will be narrowed to two in the primary. The winners will advance to the April 5 general election.
Now News Group posed three questions to the candidates seeking the Area II seat: Glen R. Allgaier (inc.), Kathy Lim and Daniel Medeiros. Their answers were limited to 100 words.
Given last year’s discovery of sexually explicit books in the library, do you feel the district responded adequately or should more be done, such as additional review of policy?
Glen R. Allgaier (inc.): We have begun to correct this, but I believe we need to do more. Some books have been removed and others moved to an older age category. I serve on the teaching and learning committee, which has reviewed and revised the policies that govern the selection of such materials. Progress has been made regarding our guidelines, and we have conducted multiple reviews of proposed books. But more is needed; the board and our community must have confidence in the review and ultimate selection of materials that are made available to our student body. See GlenAllgaier.com for more.
Kathy Lim: Community members have found an additional 40+ explicit books and raised them to the board’s attention after the initial books found in July. In September, board President Scott Wheeler apologized for the inappropriate books and said, “Some of the descriptions in these books are graphic, have no educational value and do not belong in any Elmbrook library.” Yet the administration still has not removed these additional sexually explicit books from the library, so yes more is needed to be done. The lack of prompt responsiveness to these highly sensitive issues are honestly quite baffling.
Daniel Medeiros: Any book that deals with explicit topics needs to be available to age-appropriate children. Once the district was made aware of the issue, it was corrected, and review policies improved to ensure it does not happen again. I believe the district acted responsibly and adequately.
Do you agree with the mitigation threshold plan for COVID-19 passed last September, or how would you modify it?
Allgaier: I am pleased that Elmbrook opened for in-person learning in September 2020, and has remained open, all while offering real options to parents. The thresholds were established to trigger a board review of COVID mitigation plans. These triggered a two-hour board discussion on Jan. 11. I support the board’s decision to maintain current practices because the majority of COVID data indicates a far lower risk to school-age children. Data also suggests that increasing mitigation factors would not only have a negligible health benefit but would result in a negative impact on student academic progress and emotional health.
Lim: No. Elmbrook is first and foremost a school, and academics should be its priority. In August, Elmbrook allowed the elementary parents to decide on mask-recommended or -required classrooms. Elmbrook is already in litigation over masking and violates their own policies that require a public health emergency to mandate masking, which has not been the case in the state of Wisconsin since May 2020 by the WISC ruling. Layers of procedures with inconsistent practices without quality control oversight when dictating health practices across the district is of great concern. Mask mandate needs to come off the threshold discussion.
Medeiros: I believe the district should follow the medical professions and our medical institutions like the CDC in enacting COVID-19 policies. We all want our children to have in-person learning, and there are several proven methods to help with this that are not being utilized (such as mask-wearing) that would better ensure the safety of the children and the staff in our schools.
What is your position on the proposed equity principles last year and do you think they should have been included in the strategy plan?
Allgaier: I feel some legitimate concerns were raised. However, more work is needed regarding specifics. I feel the recommendations were overly general and did not adequately address the following questions: (a) What problem are we trying to solve? (b) What would be done differently in our classrooms? (c) If implemented, what is the expected academic outcome of the recommendations? There was a lack of clarity for the “next steps” of implementation. With divided parental expectations and potential staffing shortages, a more pressing priority was to address the pressing COVID issues before further addressing the equity topic.
Lim: The board made the right decision last year. The equity non-negotiables proposed by the administration were not clearly defined. Once the community peeled back the layers, the race, gender, sex essentialism concept within curriculums resulted in a loud outcry. The teachings from ICS for Equity that Elmbrook hired from 2012-2021 are not aligned with Elmbrook values. No person’s foremost identifier should be the color of their skin, nor made to apologize for it. Administration is now using the term “all in for all” instead of equity, and we saw that term displayed on an administration laptop in December’s board meeting.
Medeiros: The vast majority of students in our district are white (70%). By not addressing equity principles, we are doing a disservice to our student population. There are social movements all over the country attempting to address equity in different ways, and our district would benefit on a social studies program that could put these into context and provide our kids to understand our country outside of our city borders.
Glen R. Allgaier
Age: 81
Address: 2455 Buckingham Place, Brookfield
Previous elected experience: 15 years on Elmbrook School Board
Community involvement: Elmbrook School Board (2007 to present), Boy Scouts of America Scoutmaster (six years), youth soccer coach (four years), mentoring high school students (two years), Brookfield/Elm Grove Interfaith Network (12 years), Interfaith Conference of Milwaukee (10 years), economic development committee in Brookfield (10 years), multiple leadership and volunteer activities in our local church congregation
Contact: 262-825-2737, moroni4u@gmail.com
Kathy Lim
Age: 50
Address: 20750 Chadwick Lane, Brookfield
Previous elected experience: N/A
Community involvement: Grassroots parent group
Contact: Kathy@KathyLIM.org
Daniel Medeiros
Age: 46
Address: 20530 Chadwick Lane, Brookfield
Previous elected experience: First time running for political office
Community involvement: Elmbrook LAUNCH program business coach and Champion
Contact: dawime@gmail.com
Contact Erik S. Hanley at (262) 875-9467 or erik.hanley@jrn.com. Like his Facebook page and follow him on Twitter at @ES_Hanley.
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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Elmbrook candidates share thoughts on hot-button issues before primary
