November 3, 2005 Board Meeting: Mr. Wenmark shares his thoughts on the School Board Campaign and TonkaFocus; TonkaFocus responds.
During the "Reports" point in the agenda, at which time Board members report on the school district committees on which they serve, Mr. Wenmark argued he had the right to report on the Board campaign as a member of the Election Committee, by which he meant the entire 7 member board. The other Board members pointed out that appointed agents oversee the election, and that it’s not the Board’s duty to supervise the campaign. His fellow Board members prevailed upon him, after heated discussion, to place his remarks at a more appropriate place in the agenda, such as the Announcements at the end of the meeting.
When questioned about why he hadn't asked for this item to be added to the agenda earlier so that other Board members and/or the public could prepare to comment and discuss, Mr. Wenmark said he wanted to report his opinion and did not want debate, feedback, colloquy or discussion. At a break in the meeting, Chairperson Erin Adams asked that copies be made of Mr. Wenmark's prepared remarks.
( Mr. Eaton was absent from the meeting. Candidate Robert C.H.Schmidt was not present. Candidates Pam Langseth, MaryLouiseBowe and Paul Borowski were present for the entire meeting. Candidate Cathy Maes was present for the first hour or so of the meeting.)
Local cable broadcast: Friday at 7:00 p.m. and Saturday at 4:00 p.m. on MediaCom Channel 19 and TimeWarner Channel 17. Mr. Wenmark’s remarks and Board members' reaction to them are about 55 minutes into the tape; about 1 ½ hours after that, near the end of the meeting, Mr. Wenmark reads aloud from his statement, reprinted in its entirety at the bottom of this page.
Tonka Focus responds to Mr. Wenmark's criticisms:
We at TonkaFocus agree completely with Mr. Wenmark that "an educated and informed citizenry is essential to the success of democracy itself." We, too, value "the right of free speech and free and fair elections" based on a "fair exchange of ideas, trusting in the wisdom of the electorate to choose a course based on the competition of ideas." But Mr. Wenmark confuses differing viewpoints, supported by the public record, with personal attacks.
Mr. Wenmark is correct that Superintendent Dennis Peterson's office notified TonkaFocus in mid-September of the district policy that any materials distributed on any school property must be approved by the Superintendent. TonkaFocus distributed fliers with our web site address (see a flier here) at Curriculum Nights at several Minnetonka schools in early September, with the permission of principals or others in authority at each building. When we were notified of the official policy, we immediately agreed to comply and have done so since.
Mr. Wenmark makes reference to the disappearance and presumed theft of lawn signs belonging to the two candidates he and Mr. Eaton sponsored, endorsed and financed throughout the campaign, MaryLouise Bowe and Paul Borowski. But he neglects to mention that, between Minnetonka's homecoming weekend and Halloween, mischief and/or theft of every candidate's lawn signs was reported, as it has been in previous years.
TonkaFocus does not claim to be an official source of the school district. We think we've clearly explained on the TonkaFocus web site and in our earlier e-newsletters that TonkaFocus is an independent community group, not affiliated with the school district. TonkaFocus has taken clear and consistent positions on certain issues, but has not endorsed individual candidates.
The invitation you see on almost every page of the TonkaFocus web site is sincere - Hold us accountable! If we make factual errors, we'll correct them. Please let us know if you have questions or concerns. And thank you for your attention to our wonderful Minnetonka Public Schools!
The Editors of TonkaFocus - Judy Budreau, Maureen Kvam, Sherri West
Below is the text of Mr. Wenmark's remarks, obtained by TonkaFocus members who attended the meeting.
2005 School Board Election Report
Dear Board Members:
On the eve of the election for School Board members, I would like to offer my thoughts and concerns on developments in this year’s election process. First, candidates for the School Board, whether they are sitting School Board members or other candidates, are to be applauded and recognized by our community for their willingness to devote their time and energies, first in seeking election, and if successful, in serving on the School Board. All candidates, regardless of their viewpoints on the issues, are motivated by a desire to advance and improve the education of our children.
Education is simultaneously government’s most noble and most essential obligation. An educated workforce is essential for our economic wellbeing in a global economy. But an educated and informed citizenry is essential to the success of democracy itself.
Given these noble goals, it has pained me to witness the negative campaigning and divisiveness that has at times marred this School Board election. School Board members and candidates for the School Board are role models for our children on civic responsibility. When negative campaigning results in personal attacks on Board members and candidates, the divisive effect on the community does not do justice to the civic responsibility and educational goals of this School District. In the past two weeks, over 100 lawn signs belonging to candidates MaryLouise Bowe and Paul Borowski have disappeared, and were presumably stolen. Police reports have been filed concerning these matters. While no one should jump to conclusions about who is or who is not responsible for the theft of campaign lawn signs, before all the facts are known and the legal process has been allowed to run its course, we can all join together in condemnation of these kinds of attacks on our fair campaign process.
We as School Board members are sworn to uphold the Constitution, including the right of free speech and free and fair elections. We must stand four square together in support of the free and fair exchange of ideas, trusting in the wisdom of the electorate to choose a course based on the competition of ideas. Being for something or against something should not be punished by personal attacks or distortions.
In addition, I believe that we need to reiterate, as a Board, that there are two officially approved media sources for the distribution of District information: WCCO Radio and the Sun Sailor Newspapers. Furthermore, The District Web Site is the only official source of District approved information. No other group is authorized to distribute District information without the express approval of our Superintendent and our Communication Department. Recently Tonka Focus was notified by the Superintendent that the distribution of their material in our School Buildings was a violation of District policy. The community should be aware that there are approved sources for official Board minutes and Board discussion, and that special interest groups involved in the election process are not official Board publications and should not be trusted as accurate and unbiased without checking for accuracy and considering the interest group’s viewpoint.
I hope that all of us on this Board will stand together in rejecting campaign activities when they become personal attacks, when those activities interfere with the fair campaign rights of every candidate, or when campaign activities violate District policy.
In closing, I want to wish our Chair the best of luck in the upcoming election, and extend the same wish to all other candidates for the School Board election.
William H. Wenmark, member
Minnetonka Board of Education