"No photo available" for newly elected board member Laurie Kortney (outlined in red) at school district website. What you see here is a campaign photo.
Headline: Wisconsin Public Radio, 7/18/2022
Photos: Muskego-Norway Schools
The decision received widespread media attention and criticism. In a statement, Muskego-Norway School Board President Chris Buckmaster said the book was not banned, and the committee simply sent the recommendation back to staff. He said the committee's chair heard concerns that the selection process had been discriminatory, but he did not further explain how, why or by whom those concerns were raised.
All of those rationales from board members are misguided, said Ann Zielke, a district parent who is one of the organizers of the teach-in event. Zielke, who attended public meetings and had multiple private conversations with board members about the decision, said the local controversy stems from the election this year of a board member dedicated to fighting so-called "critical race theory" in schools. [That would be Laurie.] She said that led them to exclude the book because it's about an instance of historical racism. " [emphasis added]
They were taking a closer look at the curriculum, so that they aren't perceived by our community as endorsing anything that could be anti-racist," Zielke said of the Waukesha County district. "That's what the extra emphasis on the curriculum has been. And that's why this book was singled out."
7/19/2022 update, "Meet the education clown show otherwise known as the Muskego-Norway (Wisconsin) school board starts here
It's pushback time for this clueless group. Now unmasked!
Headline: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 7/18/2022
Photos: Muskego-Norway Schools
The book, "When the Emperor Was Divine” by Julie Otsuka, had been chosen by a team of school staff but needed approval from a school board committee. After a June 13 school board committee meeting, staff were told to start their selection process over.
Board members have shared little about what happened at that committee meeting, which was not recorded. But emails obtained by the Journal Sentinel show there was concern that the novel focused too much on the Japanese-American experience.
r The book was not on the agenda for Monday night's board meeting and the coalition's requests to speak at the meeting were rejected, coalition members said. Board members watching the event from afar, before their meeting, declined to speak with the Journal Sentinel. [emphasis added]
Original 6/30/2022 post starts here
Headline: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 6/30/2022
Photos without makeup: Muskego-Norway Schools
Reviews: Amazon (66% of customer review are *****)
A June 13 school board committee meeting, where the book was not approved, was not recorded, according to Muskego-Norway Schools administrative assistant Laurie Buxengard. The district has not posted or provided minutes, which Buxengard said will be presented at the next board meeting July 18.
Parents in attendance, including Ann Zielke and Alison Hapeman, who support the book, told the Journal Sentinel that committee member Laurie Kontney said she thought staff chose the book because it was "diverse" and that should not be the basis of choosing it.
The title, published in 2002, is available in regular print, large print, and audio formats in LINKcat, the South Central Library System online catalog.
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