March 31, 2022 – West Bend, WI – Are you pleased with or dismayed by what’s happening in the West Bend School District? The April 5, 2022 election gives you a chance to do something positive to change the make-up of the school board.
The current school board does not reflect the conservative nature of our community. For several years they have consistently voted for tax levy increases instead of looking for ways to conserve public funds in the face of declining enrollment. In fact, since the 2016-17 school year, the West Bend school district has lost 876 students. This year, 494 students open-enrolled to other public school districts, and 277 students, vouchers in hand, left to enroll in parental choice schools (Wisconsin School Scorecard, Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty). In addition, the board voted to double their own salaries last fall.
Spending taxpayers’ hard-earned money for a declining number of students is certainly not
conservative. Neither is being complicit in the indoctrination of our students. A couple of years ago a new high school biology text was rubber-stamped and approved by the board despite the fact that some of the latest leftist topics were presented as scientific truth without alternative evidence to the contrary.
The curriculum is becoming increasingly politicized as evidenced by the promotion of social emotional learning across the country. The current board voted 7-0 in favor of an SEL curriculum called Second Step, which had been purchased by the administration for tens of thousands of dollars. SEL was criticized by many parents and residents because it is a framework to encourage “critical social consciousness” in students; children will recognize concepts such as privilege and inequity and identify themselves as members of racial, gender, and cultural groups. SEL also identifies families as “partners” on equal footing with the schools in raising their children. Wasn’t SEL sold as a way to teach children how to be
kind and understanding? Would it surprise you to learn that a recent Second Step lesson at Badger Middle School was about sexual harassment?
In addition to the leftist ideology in the West Bend schools, you may have also heard reports of bullying on buses and BLM (Black Lives Matter) protests in the high school hallways. There are problems with behavior at many schools and concerns that students are not being held accountable for their actions. Don’t you think it’s time to vote for change on the West Bend school board? Voting for Melanie Ehrgott and John Donaldson means voting for true conservatives. They will make sure that the concerns of taxpayers will be heard and the rights of parents will be respected. Vote early at City Hall or on April 5 for Ehrgott and
Donaldson.
John Heger
West Bend, WI
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Great article John Heger. It seems according to the local community agitator John Torinus people like yourself and others who want change on the school board are in his words,”Evangelicals and other conservative religious zealots.”I guess in his view people who oppose the current school board should be silenced and the status quo should continue. Silence guys like Torinus and change what is happening in our schools.