Posts filed under ‘Brooklyn Center’
Robbinsdale Federation of Teachers Quotes a Convicted Killer
By Andrew Richter
Now, we’ve all heard the stories of kids being indoctrinated in our schools to radical leftist beliefs. This used to happen quietly and behind the scenes. It now happens out in the open. Not only does the Robbinsdale Federation of Teachers (RFT) openly now support Black Lives Matter, but they openly support a “peaceful uprising” to achieve equity and justice. I don’t say it…..they do;
I’m sorry, what is a peaceful uprising? Here is the definition of an uprising: “an act of resistance or rebellion; a revolt.” A revolt? You are supposed to be teachers dedicated to helping young people develop the tools to become successful adults, not to use them as activists in your causes by encouraging an “uprising” and taking part in a “revolt” in the wake of one person’s death. As if this weren’t bad enough, the RFT then quotes a person by the name of Assata Shakur. Now who is Assata Shakur?
Oh that’s right she’s a Black Power icon and a convicted cop killer. Here’s the quote
You don’t believe me? Here an article from ABC News on the Shakur (whose real name is JoAnne Deborah Byron) case. You can see that this former Black Liberation member was convicted of murder, armed robbery, assault, battery, illegal possession of a weapon, and possession of a weapon with the intent to kill. She then escaped to Cuba where she has enjoyed freedom in that country ever since under political asylum. She is still wanted as one of the FBI “most wanted terrorist” and was the first woman to be designated that. The RFT must have been the first to congratulate her on that accomplishment.
Of all the people the district could quote, all of the minorities the district could quote from Harriet Tubman to Martin Luther King to Fredrick Douglass to Jackie Robinson to Barack Obama. who does the district quote? A former Black Panther convicted of murdering a state trooper who escaped from prison and has been in hiding ever since.
Do you want some more Assata Shakur quotes? How about this showing what a raging racist she is:
“When Black people seriously organize and take up arms to fight for our liberation, there will be a lot of white people who will drop dead from no other reason than their own guilt and fear.”
White people dropping dead? Here’s another beauty comparing the police in the United States to Nazis;
“Every day there were three shifts of police. When they changed shifts, the two troopers would salute the sergeant. Some saluted an army salute, but others saluted like the Nazis did in Germany. They held their hands in front of them and clicked their heels.”
Well that’s certainly wonderful. Does RFT share this view?
Here are the RFT’s endorsed candidates for 281 school board. Do they support this line of thinking? Maybe they should be asked?
Here are the ways to get a hold of them thought email;
helen_bassett@rdale.org
sherry_tyrrell@rdale.org
john_vento@rdale.org
I would also like to know who at the Robbinsdale Federation of Teachers decided to quote this person. Do you have an explanation? Is there another Assata Shakur we don’t know about?
Send your complaints about it to
Phone Email
President: Peter Eckhoff 763-546-5244 peckhoff@rftonline.org
Administrative Assistant: Valerie Potter 763-546-5244 vpotter@rftonline.org
Bookkeeper: Terry Johnson 763-546-5244 terryjohnson@rftonline.org
You folks sending your kid to a school in this district can now see the people responsible for your kid’s education. This is who and what they believe in.
Opat Gives Crystal the Middle Finger
By Andrew Richter
Well, Mr. Legacy Builder himself just torpedoed the city of Crystal on the construction of a pedestrian bridge over county road 81 when the stupid light rail comes through.
Crystal asked for one thing on this project: a pedestrian crossing. This request came largely from the community, not the council. They were given “assurances” that the bridge would be included in the project and they recently reached a deal with the Met Council as to the cost.
Then came the Blue Line Corridor Management Committee meeting where the bridge was killed proving Crystal was lied to. As Ward 2 Council Member Jeff Kolb wrote:
Two days later the CMC voted to remove the pedestrian bridge from the scope of the project entirely, and the bridge was killed. Hennepin County Commissioner Mike Opat, who represents the citizens who initially requested the bridge, spoke against it. The vote was a simple voice vote. There was no roll call. There will be no record of who voted to kill the bridge. There will be no accountability.
I don’t know any other way to put it- we were played. And we were played by people who are better at this game than we are. So we lost. The Crystal City Council, and the Crystal City Staff did, in my opinion, everything we could possibly do to fight to represent our residents, but at the end of the day someone else decided we didn’t need a bridge so now we don’t get one.
Really interesting that the guy who supports a Twins stadium, a soccer stadium, and a $1.5 light rail project thinks a pedestrian bridge is too expensive!
To me the truth is that I think the Met Council and Mike Opat lied all along to Crystal. They knew this council was hostile to this project and the city council tried hard to work in good faith for what citizens asked for. Then they were stabbed in the back.
Everyone in Crystal should be angry about this; everyone that is except for the angry birds/sour grapes ticket. The bitter and angry ReNae Bowman was downright giddy;
Karma? Why are you happy Ms. Bowman? Why are you regarding bad news for the city as good news? We all know why: you are hateful person who hates the current council so much for not being a lap dog for Hennepin County and the Met Council like you are.
John John Budziszewski is running his mouth on twitter claiming the mayor and council showed a lack of leadership. huh? How do you figure that? The council listened to what citizens wanted, took those concerns to the management committee, and fought for them to be included in the project. Why aren’t you mad at Mr. Opat and the committee for not keeping their word. I’ll tell you why: because you are so blinded by hate (hatred towards the people who beat him in an election) that you don’t care what Crystal citizens want.
John John had other smart ass comments;
Wow you’re funny!
My advice to the city council; keep doing what you are doing. You took an oath to Crystal, not Hennepin County or the Met Council. Let the angry birds squawk. They have nothing else to say.
Dream Big? Really?
By Andrew Richter
Hennepin County just has money to burn;
I hope by now you have had an opportunity to check out the new Hennepin County Library – Brooklyn Park, located at 8500 W. Broadway. It is a special place!
All I saw was the price tag: a cool $24 million! Couldn’t you build this for $21 million?
Brooklyn Park is the sixth largest city in Minnesota and one of the state’s fastest growing communities. Now it finally has the signature library it deserves. While the new library was conceived of more than a decade ago, the building’s technological features and flexibility contemplate far into the future of Brooklyn Park.
The original Brooklyn Park Library Task Force was creative in its initial conception of what the building should represent. Today, we have the first STEM-focused library in our system.
Library task force?
Throughout the years, the Community Advisory Committees were equally as thoughtful when considering the library’s design and the gorgeous displays adorning the walls, ceiling and perimeter of the building. Thanks go to the dozens of involved residents for making the library truly reflective of the diverse backgrounds and viewpoints of Brooklyn Park.
There is space devoted to learners of all ages, with square footage more than twice that of the old library on Zane Avenue. The amenities at the new Brooklyn Park Library rival any great library in the nation: an interactive learning wall, a fully-immersive recording studio, 78 new computers, 11 private meeting rooms, early literacy programming with science and technology themes, large format video conferencing that can take you all over the world, dynamic public art that you can touch and explore. All open seven days a week.
It’s got every bell and whistle that you could possibly charge to the taxpayer. Funny, too, I thought this was a library, but no, now it’s for meeting space or surfing the net I guess.
Now, the kicker; as always Opat links it to the light rail.
Hennepin County has always been committed to the vision of a signature library, a gathering place for the people of Brooklyn Park. We have delivered one that will ensure new discoveries and experiences with each visit. In the not-too-distant future, we will have a Blue Line LRT station at the intersection of 85th and West Broadway. North Hennepin Community College continues to assess its plans for growth in the area as well. Our new library is yet another reason why residents have good reason to dream big about the future of Hennepin County and Brooklyn Park.
I’m so excited I can hardly contain myself.
An Elected Met Council is No Better
By Andrew Richter
One would think that all this talk about reforming the Met Council would make me as happy and yes, it does make me smile. However, I think some critical things are missing from the debate here that I just can’t stay silent about.
Ideas for reform can be seen in a recent Sun Post article HERE and Crystal City Councilman Jeff Kolb does a terrific job summarizing a letter that five council members in Crystal recently signed (Read that HERE). Other cities and counties have adopted similar stances. Trouble is, what exactly are these resolutions or letters proposing to do?
Though it is nice to see all the criticism of the Met Council and while I greatly admire the members of the Crystal City Council, all of these reforms miss the ultimate problem; the Met Council doesn’t need to be reformed, it needs to be eliminated. At a minimum, its power needs to be reduced. As long as the Met Council holds the power that it does, it is pretty much useless to elect members.
Electing members or staggering their terms doesn’t do much to reform this body. Of course, appointing the Met Council amounts to total communism, but my fear is that an elected Met Council will go the way of the Park Board or Soil and Conservation. people will be voting for members and have no clue what they are actually voting for. If we elect a Met Council and they continue to have the power that they do, we may as well just eliminate city councils altogether.
I also vehemently object to elected members city councilmen and county commissioners sitting on the Met Council. These people take an oath to represent their constituents, not to go sit on some other board. You can’t serve two masters. It is not “representation” for a councilman or a county commissioner to get themselves appointed to another layer of government.
A great case in point is the Counties Transit Improvement Board, which is made up of five of the seven counties here in the Metro area. They get to divvy up the money from the 2008 gas tax in transit projects. Even though elected county commissioners sit on the board, voters have no control over who gets appointed to this board nor do they have any say in what projects they fund. We elect county commissioners to oversee their county, NOT to decide what transit gets funded in ANOTHER county.
If we want REAL reform how about we advocate to take away the Met Council’s power to implement a direct tax? Or maybe we advocate taking away their authority over housing, or transit, or comprehensive plans? How about our legislature demand reforms or refuse funding? These are the things that will bring REAL reform.
The conversation is a good starting point, but it is nowhere close to where we need to go. As Winston Churchill put it, it’s not the beginning of the end, it’s more like the end of the beginning.
To Do a Resolution or Not?
By Andrew Richter
Generally speaking I am opposed to city councils doing resolutions on state and federal matters or on ballot measures so, despite mt feelings on the Met Council, I’m not sure what I think of this resolution brought before the Brooklyn Park city council;
The coalition of metro area counties and cities pushing for legislative reform of the Metropolitan Council has asked the Brooklyn Park City Council for the city’s support. Rhonda Sivarajah, chair of the Anoka County Board of Commissioners, presented the primary concerns of the coalition, which includes Anoka, Dakota, Carver and Scott counties and 25 cities that support the initiative, during the April 4 council work session.
The council is expected to discuss the resolution of support at the April 25 regular meeting. Sivarajah also presented the reforms sought, including that the majority of the members of the Met Council be elected officials from the cities and counties impacted by the council’s planning and decisions. In the nearly 50 years since the Met Council was formed, the scope of its impact has expanded greatly, Sivarajah noted, while those sitting on the council remain appointed, and only accountable, to the governor. “We are the only metropolitan planning council in the nation where no elected officials sit on the council,” Sivarajah told the council.
With all due respect, an elected Met Council is a wrongheaded approach. This organization needs to be eliminated, not reformed. My fear is that if they are elected it will become the Park Board or Soil and Conservation where people have no idea what they are voting for,
The changes must be made by the State Legislature, and the coalition is asking cities to pass resolutions of support, to show there is broad-based support for changes, she said.
Sen. Scott Dibble, DFL-Minneapolis, and Sen. Eric Pratt, R-Prior Lake, are the sponsors of the Senate bill, and Rep. Tony Albright, R-Prior Lake, is the chief House author of the legislation during this session. The House bill has been referred to the state Government Finance committee and amended to include that a committee of elected officials would make nominations for the governor to consider in his appointments, and establishing a blue ribbon commission to study the Met Council, its powers and governance and its relationship with local governments.
A Blue Ribbon Commission? Why does government need a commission to study itself? Who’s going to be on this commission? The same people who fund the Met Council? Sounds like a delaying tactic.
Brooklyn Park Councilmember Mike Trepanier wondered aloud the purpose of the council. He also pondered the possibility that elected officials serving on the council would face difficult decisions where the impact of a decision would be negative for their city, but positive for the larger area. “What’s the purpose of a planning agency? It is the big look,” he said. “My concern is how we rebalance this power, and not put individuals in these situations.”
Well, don’t we have that situation at the state and federal level too, Maybe we should appoint them? LOL
Trepanier also questioned where the Met Council and the Twin Cities match up with other planning councils in terms of effectiveness and efficiency.
“We aren’t doing the best job,” Sivarajah said, noting the metro area’s disparities in affordable housing and minority poverty, issues that the council is supposed to address. The coalition is pushing for accountability, Sivarajah said, with the elected officials voted in by their citizens and then nominated to serve on the council.
Councilmember John Jordan said he supports the change, because the impact of Met Council decisions are very real, on housing, roads, transit and utility services. Those big decisions are made by people who aren’t part of the community, he said. “None of those people will ride our buses, flush our toilets or pay our taxes,” Jordan said.
As always, John Jordan makes sense but again I think elimination, not reform is the end game.
Mayor Jeff Lunde, citing the city’s complaint to the federal Housing and Urban Development department about the Met Council pushing the city for even more affordable housing developments, said he supports the change because the Met Council isn’t listening on housing. “I don’t think that everything that the Met Council does is bad, but I do think they could do better,” he said.
Oh wow Mr. Lunde! They could do better? What a tough statement!
Folks, as much as I oppose the existence of the Met Council, I’m not wild about municipal resolutions that quite frankly can simply be ignored. What say you?
Once Again I Don’t Know if I Should Laugh or Cry
By Andrew Richter
Well I guess district 281 needs more diversity training;
A parent committee at Robbinsdale Area Schools thinks the district doesn’t include enough state-mandated curriculum about Native Americans.
Says who? What’s your evidence?
The district’s American Indian Parent Advisory Committee sent a “resolution of non-concurrence” to the school board earlier this year, meaning that committee members generally believe the district is not meeting state-mandated standards for teaching students about the values and contributions of Native Americans.
The Indian Parent Advisory Committee? Funny, the left wants a color blind society, yet everyone has to have their little group to make sure “their race” gets represented.
“They need to teach from a native perspective,” said Diana Yellowhammer, chair of the parent committee. “The history being taught is too heavy in battle and conflict – the American Indian and the white. … They need to build awareness of American Indian values and contributions and culture.”
Translation: You not only need to teach more about Indians (oh excuse me, Native Americans) but you also have to be politically correct and teach it “their way.”
The resolution itself lists four committee members – two of whom identified themselves as American Indian – and states that, “there is not an American Indian curriculum implemented in the district.” The resolution was approved by the committee in mid-November.
So four people are pushing this?
“Good for them for standing up and saying, ‘Enough is enough, and it’s time that this omission is addressed,’” said Robbinsdale School Board Member Patsy Green at a March 7 meeting where the resolution was discussed. “I think that’s really powerful.”
Oh, I’m in awe….
Yellowhammer, other committee members, and district staff are scheduled to come up with specific curriculum and programming recommendations by April 1, she said. The work group also includes two “elders,” whom Yellowhammer described as “The ones who most American Indians turn to for wisdom about American Indian culture … to teach us our culture and values.”
The district has come up with an action plan to address the issue and will discuss it further at a March 21 work session. The action plan’s rough timeline is as follows, according to district staff:
• Spring 2016: Select and align American Indian resources PreK-12
• Spring 2016: Culturally Responsive Teaching
• Spring-Fall 2016: Student Focus Groups
• June 2016: Summer Institute
• September 2016: Implementation
PreK? PreK? These kids don’t even know how to count but we have to make sure they have a Native American curriculum?
“I would see it as an opportunity for us to align with everything that’s going on in our district as it relates to state standards,” said Marcellus Davis, the district’s integration, equity and Indian Education director.
Integration, equity, and Indian Director???
Each Minnesota school district with more than 10 American Indian students is required by state law to have an American Indian Parent Advisory Committee, according to the Minnesota Department of Education. The committee serves in an advisory role to the school district, and school boards must ensure that programs are planned, operated and evaluated in consultation with the committee.
Robbinsdale Area Schools had 171 American Indian students enrolled as of Oct. 1, 2015.
The world is going to hell in a hand basket!!
Is This Right or a Disservice?
By Andrew Richter
Looks like no primary for District 281 and, once again, a late filing date.
A quick, nonbinding “up or down” vote at a March 7 Robbinsdale Area Schools work session put the kibosh on the possibility for a primary election this August.
How about we have this discussion at a board meeting or have a public hearing and see what the people you represent think?
School Board members unanimously gave “thumbs down” to the idea, with the general consensus that a primary would not significantly narrow the candidate field and would be prohibitively expensive. The board will have three seats up for grabs this November. Those seats are occupied by Board Member Helen Bassett, Chair Sherry Tyrell and Board Member John Vento.
“If you heard 10 people were running for three seats, you might want to narrow it down,” said Vento.
Documents supplied at the meeting indicate that the estimated cost for an election is $8,000 to $10,000, an expense that includes legal publications, attorney fees and other accoutrements.
“It’s good to talk about it, but it’s more trouble than it’s worth, in my opinion,” said Bassett.
Well at least your open minded.
In 2007, the state made primaries optional in school board elections. The board at the time passed a resolution opting out of a potential primary, and current board members recalled a primary during a non-presidential election year that narrowed the candidate field from nine people to eight and cost tens of thousands of dollars.
Boardmember Michael Herring said the district’s ongoing facilities and curriculum re-think could be a “catalyst” for interest in the open seats. The district’s initial plans for a disused elementary building in Plymouth drew large crowds to a series of board meetings, and similarly controversial decisions in previous years – like budget cuts in the late 2000s – resulted in relatively large candidate fields then, too.
In 2014, a total of eight candidates – two of whom were incumbents – filed to run for four available seats. There was no primary election that year, either, after a similar decision was reached by that iteration of the school board.
The board’s March 7 decision was not formal or binding, but the board would need to pass a resolution before April 15 that calls for a primary in order for one to occur. The distinct lack of support for one at the work session makes that unlikely.
The filing period for the general election on Nov. 8 is August 2-16. The school district hosts two “so you want to run for the school board?” informational sessions before filing opens.
Folks, I’m not completely sure what I think about this. I know some people don’t like primaries especially with the low voter turnout, but I don’t believe that this is a “cost saving” measure. I think this is here to protect the Union-backed board members. My evidence for this is that the filing period is in August rather than May like city and county elections. How is any candidate supposed to campaign in all or part of seven cities in 11 weeks? How are they supposed to raise funds or knock on doors?
Union mob rules!!!!
We Have to Defeat This Guy!
By Andrew Richter
Well, it’s time for career politicians to announce their re-election;
Mike Opat, Hennepin County Commissioner for District 1, has announced he will seek reelection in the general election this fall. Opat, who lives in Robbinsdale, has represented Brooklyn Park, Brooklyn Center, Crystal, New Hope, Robbinsdale and Osseo on the board since 1993.
In his announcement, Opat touted the progress on the Blue Line Extension of light rail as a significant investment in the northwest suburbs. The line is planned to run from Target Field station through Minneapolis, Golden Valley, Robbinsdale, Crystal and Brooklyn Park. The cities and county are in the municipal consent process for the $1.496 billion project, which could start construction in 2018 and operation in 2021.
Is there any spending you don’t approve of.
Opat also noted the investment of $2.2 million in county youth sports grants to expand youth activities outside of school, the new Brooklyn Park Hennepin County library, which will open in May, and his work on improving the safety of Highway 252 in the Brooklyns.
Spend, spend, spend….
“Hennepin County is often a quiet layer of government, but the work we do affects lives every day. I am eager to continue working on behalf of the people of District 1 and look forward to discussing your priorities with you over the coming months,” Opat said.
Of course you’re eager to, you couldn’t get a real job anywhere! Let’s get a great candidate to defeat this big spending legacy builder!
Big Votes Coming Up
By Andrew Richter
Folks if we want to stop the Bottineau light rail line we have two chances left. The municipal consent votes in Crystal and Brooklyn Park are coming up! Crystal has a public hearing on February 16 and a possible vote on February 29. Brooklyn Park has a vote coming up on February 21. These are the only two cities with any chance of saying no to light rail. The city councils of Robbinsdale, Golden Valley, and Minneapolis are just lap dogs for Hennepin County and the Met Council! We need to pack the rooms at these meetings and say NO to Bottineau!!!!
RAS Has Created Overcrowded Schools!!
By The NumbersGuy (Ron Stoffel)
Robbinsdale Area School District #281 (RAS) has created and is continuing to cause overcrowded schools by mismanaging non-resident student populations in most district schools. An example at Plymouth Middle School (PMS), which is one of the schools used to require the $30+ million expansion plan, the 14-15 year percentage of non-resident students to total students is about 8%. Under Minnesota Statute 124D.03, district is required to have at least 1% of total student population by grade by school be made up of non-resident students. Therefore, PMS has 7 times the number of non-resident students required by law!!! RAS total District wide non-resident population is over 12%.
If the district properly managed its non-resident student population at PMS and throughout the District, there would be NO NEED to spend over $30 million in capital and over $1.2 million in annual operating costs!!
The District has said that it has taken over 20 months to review all options for addressing overcrowded schools, have they considered reducing non-resident student population. If not why not??
I believe this is a COMPLETELY self-inflicted problem that must be fixed without spending over $30 million in capital and $1.2 million in annual operating costs. Over $30 million in capital costs must be COMPLETELY paid for by District #281 residents, not non-resident student families!!
Please contact RAS School Board and Administration to ask why THEY have caused this problem??
Community Solutions MN 