Where did TCC come from?

 It started innocently enough. In the fall of 2020 the Kiel Area School District helped launch a few public diversity meetings in Kiel. Concerned citizens questioned the implication of widespread racism in our community. They also wondered why our district administrator was facilitating these public meetings. It turned out many of us were approaching Dr. Ebert and various board members privately and with discretion, often expressing serious concerns with KASD contemplating bringing in the controversial out of state Great Lakes Equity Center to our schools as a consultant. Citizens were not satisfied with responses to those conversations and later learned of factual discrepancies via open records requests. 

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A community member brought a dozen or so unheard citizens together and we learned we were not alone. TCC was born. We spoke to the Board of Education with a larger voice and still more joined our movement, yet our concerns remained unaddressed. Ultimately, we spent 12 days circulating a petition stating our consensus driven concerns, hoping to get 200-300 signatures so the District Administration and the 2021 BOE would finally take us seriously. 

 

The 837 Petitions 

To our amazement, 837 KASD voters confirmed in writing they didn’t want GLEC/MAPS anywhere near our students either. Now the BOE would have to listen, right? WRONG! Defying all rational thought, after additional months of public feedback, on October 6, 2021, the BOE voted unanimously (Member Olm was not present at that meeting) to disregard the wishes of the 837 voters.

 

The BOE had been advised publicly for several months that the way GLEC/MAPS describes themselves on their website is deeply disturbing (Link).  What these radicals openly state they believe about “all white people” is in fact racist. One of their stated goals, to dismantle American society including the traditional nuclear family structure, is as absurd as it is dangerous. Their view on educators is just as deeply concerning in this newsletter. (Link)

 

In a very real way, the 2021 KASD BOE is why TCC exists today. All we initially wanted was the BOE or the District Administrator to respond  “We hear your concerns about GLEC/MAPS and agree they are too controversial and way too radical for our community, so we will find an alternative consultant.” If they would have said that, and followed through, TCC would have probably dissolved and the three incumbent BOE members ousted in the spring 2022 election might still have their positions, and maybe even would have run unopposed. But things happen for a reason. 

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Submission of Signatures

We have heard the accusations that the petition and signatures were not real or we only used them to gather names. Yes, they are real and no we did not use this as a way to gather names. We thought if we could show the BOE that the community was against this divisive group, they would listen to us. There are various types of petitions, each one has rules that need to be followed. We used a public purpose petition which does not require a submission. 

 

• "Public Purpose petitions—ask officials to take or not take a specific action. They might be addressed to policymakers, government bodies, or administrative agencies. These are shared publicly to acquire signers. Requirements are minimal or absent."  (https://www.americanbar.org/groups/public_education/publications/insights-on-law-and-society/volume-20/issue-1/learning-gateways--right-to-petition/)

• We have observed the reactions of the type of hate against anyone who dares speak out in our local community. This is the very reason why we did not submit them for public record. The people asking for these petitions would use them to publicly bully, harass and dox the signers. (Link) Some are still talking about the petition today.

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The 50.3/100 Report Card

While TCC was sitting in BOE meetings pleading the public’s case, we learned of other issues. For example, in the fall of 2021 we were shocked when the 2020 state report card for our high school came in with an overall score of 50.3/100. Then our independent research revealed that this score was the trend for the last four years, meaning this was not just a result of the Covid Pandemic . Even more amazing, some incumbent supporting citizens publicly described this as “delivering educational excellence”. TCC wants much, much better for our students. TCC believed all this shocking information was critical for voters to know if they were to make an informed decision about their Board of Education representatives. Private citizens agreed and launched a voter education effort for the 2022 elections.

 

TCC Today

We are unpaid volunteers with very full lives, yet support the district and the community to the best of our ability. We are humbled by all the meaningful participation of other concerned citizens. Together we are making a difference in the KASD.

 

Our primary concern will always be helping provide the best possible education for the students of the KASD. We will not compromise when it comes to our principles, or the health, safety, and welfare of our children. We believe voters should make educated decisions and our tools are facts with rational arguments. Good systems require good leaders and TCC encourages both in the KASD.

 

At TCC we listen, we hear, and we get it. We encourage concerned citizens to reach out anytime with their concerns or better yet, join us to make a difference.

 

TCC is you Kiel!