What a great weekend for getting out to neighborhoods and sharing info about the Lakers4Change endorsed candidates. Our large group on Saturday, was amazing. Especially the new volunteers that came out to help! The remaining roughly 1000 bags were stuffed and dropped at doors in the district. What a HUGE team effort! WE COULD NOT HAVE REACHED SO MANY VOTERS WITHOUT OUR AMAZING TEAM OF VOLUNTEERS!
Author Archives: L4C
VOTE 4 CHANGE!
Remember to vote for school board candidates that won’t continue putting your child’s academic proficiency at risk, for their progressive agenda. VOTE… ATKINSON • BULLYAN MARKERT • ZAHN If you wish to continue down the path of falling proficiency scores, deficit spending that leads to higher taxes, student conflict and safety issues. Vote for the progressive, union backed candidates. Let’s FLIP THE BOARD, PLSAS!
See what’s trending…
Hypocrisy In a recent posting on a Facebook page named “Citizens of Prior Lake,” a member of the group allegedly was asked to share a statement by Dr. Dan Edwards, PLSAS Director of Teaching and Learning. Lakers4Change would like to respond to his letter, please read to the end. The statement reads as follows, Weighing in on the school board elections. Posting on behalf of my good friend Dr. Dan Edwards. Dan is a lifelong resident of Prior Lake and respected educator in the district: Laker Pride is Alive and Well As a lifelong resident of Prior Lake for over 50 years, a PLHS graduate, and a professional educator serving the Prior Lake-Savage Area School District as a teacher, coach, and administrator for the past 29 years, I feel compelled to address the residents of our school district via this forum, as we head to the polls on November 8th. Throughout my time as a resident, parent, and educator within our school district, I have refrained from engaging in political banter or online community forums, instead choosing to spend my time serving in a professional capacity during the day and as a volunteer coach on evenings and weekends. It is through these experiences that I have had the privilege to see amazing opportunities and accomplishments the youth of our community experience day in and day out, true Laker Pride. First and foremost, I want to share my perspective that as a result of the tireless and amazing efforts of our current school board and over 1300 employees of PLSAS, our students are thriving. Do we have areas where we need to continue to improve so that all of our students experience high levels of success throughout our system? We most certainly do! Is our school district committed to striving for excellence in all that we do? I can assure you that we are! This is precisely why I have never been more proud to be a Laker! You might be asking yourself, why would I feel compelled to share my personal opinions in advance of the upcoming election? It is because of two recent flyers that I have received in the past few days that have me extremely concerned about the future path we could be heading down in our school district. The first flyer entitled, “For a Better Prior Lake,” and it included pictures and names of most of the Republican candidates running for state offices as well as pictures and names of four school board candidates appearing to be running on the ‘Republican ticket’. The question this left me asking myself and a question I would encourage you to ask yourself as well, since when are local school board elections tied to our two-party political system? I must share that this causes me serious concern. As a former American government teacher, I can fully appreciate the complexities of our political system, and the benefits and challenges of a two-party system, but I am very concerned with how that currently appears to be influencing and dictating the elections of our local school board. It would be my hope that those making decisions for the benefit of our students MUST could put aside party politics and do what is truly in the best interest of students, not a political party! The second flyer that caused me concern was included as an insert in the October 29th edition of the Prior Lake American. This flyer identified “Your COMMON SENSE candidates” again with pictures and names of the same individuals included in the previously mentioned ‘Republican ticket’. It wasn’t the fact that these four candidates were listed together once again that concerned me, more importantly, it was the ‘promises’ that were listed at the top of the flyer, two of which I would like to address, specifically “Bring Back LAKER PRIDE” and “Empower Teachers”. Regarding the first, as I have stated above, I do not believe there is a need to ‘bring back’ Laker Pride, it is truly alive and well and based upon my study of the listed candidates, I have significant concerns about their willingness and ability to truly deliver on this ‘promise’. Similarly, in the case of the second promise, once again, based upon my study of the candidates, I have serious concerns that they actually intend to “empower”, I might even suggest that they may actually stifle our amazingly talented and dedicated teachers and staff. I want to assure you that Laker Pride is alive and well and I feel confident that this pride will continue into the future if we, the electorate make careful choices on November 8th by choosing candidates who truly want to help our school district achieve its mission, to educate all learners to reach their full potential as contributing members of our ever-changing global community. The school board candidates that I believe will be collaborative problem solvers and will support our amazing staff in their work to achieve this mission are Enrique Velazquez, Jessica Olstad, Michael Nelson, and Jonathan Drewes. Dan Edwards, Ed. D. The above statement is dripping with hypocrisy and it starts with the opening phrase “Laker Pride is Alive and Well”. Our Laker children have spent the past year being shamed for the sins of a few. They have endured protests, one where a firearm was brought onto school grounds by an outside agitator. They have had pep rallies replaced with “student voices” rallies. They have had a basketball season cancelled because of one student’s actions. They walk through hallways and into classrooms with walls covered with the word HATE. Is this what Laker Pride looks like? Is Laker Pride really alive and well? Next, it seems necessary to address his statement, “our students are thriving.” As a district administrator, how do prove this statement to be true? What is the data from which you draw this conclusion? According to the definition of THRIVE, it means to grow vigorously or progress toward or realize a goal despite of orContinue reading “See what’s trending…”
Union endorsed or DFL endorsed?
The Prior Lake-Savage Education Association (the local teacher’s union) recently posted their support for candidates other than their endorsed school board candidates.
“How national politics are changing Minnesota’s 2022 school board elections”
MPR released an article today, written by Elizabeth Shockman, about the Prior Lake-Savage School Board race. You can read it here.
Signs
Several supporters have reached out and reported that their campaign signs have been stolen and vandalized. This is not only sad, because it stifles free speech, but it is also against the law. Please…show respect for your community, for your neighbors and for yourself.
Whose children are they?
Remember when you wanted to make health decisions for your own child? Remember when you had to leave your child at home, to learn alone, because you couldn’t lose your job? Remember when you pleaded with them in a public forum, were told to stop speaking because your 3 minutes was up and they moved on without acknowledging your pain? Remember when they voted unanimously, almost every single time, without debate, rather than representing the diverse views of the community? Remember when their policies allowed a high profile protest to take place on school grounds where outside agitators were allowed to be present? Remember that the Prior Lake-Savage Education Association candidates are asking for you to elect them… AGAIN. VOTE FOR PARENTAL RIGHTS. VOTE FOR MENTAL HEALTH SUPPORT. VOTE FOR SAFETY. VOTE FOR YOUR CHILDREN. VOTE 4 CHANGE! • ATKINSON • BULLYAN • MARKERT • ZAHN
30,000!
Did you know that there are about 30,000 registered voters in the Prior Lake-Savage Area School District? And that 30,000 is also the number of views this website has reached! Let’s keep this momentum going and remind family, friends and neighbors to… VOTE 4 CHANGE!
Knock, knock… who’s there?
LAKERS4CHANGE! If you are looking for a way to make a positive impact in our phenomenal community, just answer your door when we knock! Our volunteers and the candidates have been knocking on thousands of doors since the summer to spread the word about the state our district is in and how much better it can be if we can… FLIP THE BOARD! If you are interested in helping make an even greater impact in our phenomenal community, volunteer to help! We have opportunities to knock doors, make calls, and more. Just email lakers4changevolunteer@gmail.com or call (612) 314-5248 to let us know how you would like to help. VOTE 4 CHANGE Vote ATKINSON, BULLYAN, MARKERT and ZAHN on November 8!
Thank you, KARE11!
Lakers4Change and our amazing endorsed candidates Amy Bullyan, Geoff Zahn, Lisa Atkinson and Bill Markert were featured on a KARE11 segment, that aired Monday evening, and it can also be read about on KARE11’s website. After watching the segment and reading the article that followed, there are several details, or lack thereof, to note. Screenshots of KARE11 article added for context. Source: https://www.kare11.com/article/news/politics/political-ideology-school-board-contests/89-7dc46ddc-0d30-4e0c-9a05-6bc55b183a09 The first detail worth noting is that the UNION is not clearly identified in the article as the UNION, but instead simply as Prior Lake-Savage Education Association (PLSEA). This seemingly deceptive tactic was also used by the Prior Lake-Savage UNION itself, as their own expensive mailer omitted the word UNION, and also by candidate Jessica Olstad, when large yard signs with all four UNION endorsed candidates’ names began popping up around the district, bearing the phrase “endorsed by the teachers of the Prior Lake-Savage Education Association” and again, not clarifying that PLSEA is the teachers UNION. Next, notice how the author of the article states that there are “two distinct groups of candidates” and claims that the UNION endorsed four are “endorsed by teachers” and that the Lakers4Change endorsed four are endorsed by “a statewide “parental rights” group.” What the author fails to mention is that Bullyan, Zahn, Atkinson and Markert are also endorsed by teachers, just not by the teachers’ UNION. Additionally, a top priority of the Lakers4Change endorsed candidates, if elected, is supporting parental rights in the schools, particularly when it comes to medical and/or health decisions and parents’ rights to know what their children are being taught in school. This was also one of the reasons that Lakers4Change chose to endorse these four. One of the reasons the UNION likely looks to endorse candidates like Olstad and her running mates is because of statements like hers, “I also want to make sure we trust teachers to do their jobs and get out of their way.” Trust and get out of their way? How would this be a harmonious relationship, expecting parents to hand over their children and step aside to “let them teach the way they want”? This is why parents are now demanding curriculum transparency and parental rights to be protected in public schools, because districts were trusted to teach the way they want. Parents were just unaware of WHAT they wanted to teach our children and that is why parents are now speaking out. You’ll begin to notice a common trend among the UNION endorsed candidates as well. Take note of the common use of the words INCLUSION and LOVE. Making children feel included and a sense of Laker Pride is a no brainer. Who wouldn’t want that for every student? However, the use of the word LOVE doesn’t seem to quite fit in reference to relationships between educators, administration and the students they oversee. Parents and guardians do not need educators and staff to “LOVE” their children, they need them to protect, respect and teach. In fact, the responsibility of a school board director has very little to do with feelings. The responsibility of a school board director is about policy and governance, not loving anyone. It is a director’s job to create policies that PROTECT the rights of students, parents and staff, policies that RESPECT the individuality and boundaries of those same people and policies that ensure our educators TEACH the students according to state standards. It is also that director’s job to ensure that these policies are being enforced consistently and without bias. A school board director is an elected official hired to manage the operations of a multimillion dollar entity that is in the business of PROTECTING, RESPECTING and TEACHING the children of the district it serves not enforcing ideology. Leave the LOVE and identity decisions in the hands of the families. To quote Olstad, “This is about our kids’ lives.” And lastly, transparency. Perhaps Olstad speaks the truth about her experience thus far as a parent. After all, she has said that she wants to be an “elementary voice” on the school board. Many parents will say that elementary education is quite simple in that it’s main purpose is to teach the basic elements of academics to prepare students for more in-depth and complicated subjects in middle and high school. Middle and high school seems to be where the lack of transparency becomes more apparent. Once a student enters middle school, there are a multitude of teachers and classes that become part of that student’s daily life. This is also a common age for adolescents to become less open with parents, which could be a potential problem if a curriculum lacks transparency. The details of what is being taught to students, is not readily available to parents before a lesson takes place, it is “in the fine print.” These details may include a video or slide shown in class, like the ones shared in a previous post, which will only be known to the parent after the child has watched it in class and felt the need to share it with their parent afterward. Is this when we “reach out to teachers?” Or is this an example of lack of transparency in the curriculum? The only additional things to point out are that the incumbents are absent, again and that this story feels a little bias when they disclose, at the end of the video segment, that Olstad is married to a former reporter of KARE11. Actually, maybe KARE11 should check their implicit bias. MAKE SURE TO WATCH THE VIDEO SEGMENT! VOTE 4 CHANGE!