No. 6: Citizens speak up at school board meetings

Dec. 28—Local school boards accustomed to conducting their work before sparse crowds found themselves before sometimes standing room-only crowds in the latter half of 2021.

Mask mandates and other coronavirus mitigation protocols and nationwide scrutiny of how schools teach about race and racism drove citizens to come to board meetings in unprecedented numbers.

New restrictions placed on public commenters by the Mankato Area School Board drew national attention.

The public comment peak began this summer as school leaders were planning for the fall return of students full time amid a pandemic, Mankato Area Public Schools was adopting a new equity framework and critical race theory became a buzz term on conservative media.

Whether or not schools should require students and staff to wear masks was the most controversial of proposed pandemic safety protocols.

Most of the approximately 30 citizens who spoke at the Aug. 16 Mankato School Board opposed masks.

"I don't need you to decide for me," said parent Kristine Spillers. "Kids are getting burned out and parents are getting angry that their voices are not being considered."

The more than 20 speakers were more evenly split at the St. Peter Board meeting on the same night.

"Statistically, death is rare in children, but we don't want our children to be one of the statistics," Dr. Keith Stelter said. "And we don't want to set ourselves up to say that we didn't do everything possible to prevent COVID."

Both boards decided on split votes to require masks — in Mankato at elementary and middle schools but not high schools and in St. Peter at all schools. The St. Peter board later made masks optional at the high school after again listening to a lengthy public forum.

A July Mankato School Board meeting also was packed as the board adopted recommendations from an equity consulting firm, including new district mission and vision statements and an equity decision-making checklist.

While some speakers applauded the district for its equity work, others said the district is overemphasizing race.

"Equity places individuals in groups and judges people according to the outcomes of their group," Julie Strusz said. "It pits groups against each other. All whites are labeled racists. All others are labeled oppressed."

At that meeting and others, some speakers talked about critical race theory. That is in actuality a decades-old college-level academic theory that has become an umbrella term for conservatives concerned about school equity initiatives and how the concepts of race and racism are being addressed in schools.

In October, after multiple lengthy public comment sessions largely consumed by those two issues, Mankato School Board Chair Jodi Sapp announced new rules. The board would only hear from speakers about topics that are on the board's agenda for that meeting, speakers may no longer address any board members or district staff individually, and applause or other audience interjections would put an end to the public forums.

Sapp said the changes were in response to "political grandstanding" and "bullying" occurring from some speakers.

"I tried to be patient and kind, but it wasn't working," she said. "We don't want to limit free speech, but people need to show a little decorum."

The changes, as well as a pre-existing requirements that speakers publicly share their full address, drew criticism from conservative national media. The coverage drew another standing room-only crowd to a November board meeting, though there were not as many speakers as some past meetings.

The board lifted the address requirement after hearing some people were concerned sharing their full address jeopardized their safety. Speakers now must only disclose their city of residence.

Mankato School Board members now are considering holding listening sessions or other public input opportunities outside of the regular school board meetings.