I Don’t Hate America!

This past November, voters in the Prior Lake-Savage school district elected Chris Lind, a campus supervisor who had been terminated this past summer, to the school board.  Speculation still persists about the conditions surrounding Lind’s termination as his personnel file remains private.  So far.

Monday will be Lind’s first meeting.  Item “A” under “New Business” will be “Consideration of Chris Lind’s request for mediation.”  Yes, last month Lind’s lawyer sent a letter to the district, indicating legal action could still be a possibility against the district.

This brings up some questions, such as how fair of a legal strategy the district will be able to mount when it seems Lind, as a duly elected member of the board, can’t be prohibited from attending executive sessions.  Also, questions linger over Lind’s motives for being on the board, but he continues to insist spite toward the district is not one of them.

The Prior Lake American gives their thoughts in an editorial:

As we wrote in that Nov. 17 editorial, Lind will become an
elected official when he takes the oath of office at the Monday, Jan. 14 board
meeting. Since his election, this newspaper’s staff and many others in the
community have called on Lind to reach out in an open, direct manner,
explaining the circumstances of his firing. He has not done so, and now, with
news of his planned lawsuit against the district, he presumably cannot.

As a result, Lind won’t be able to serve both himself and the
school district. Therefore, we urge Lind to reconsider his plans to take
office.

By all appearances, Lind has not broken the law and is simply
doing what he has the legal right to do. However, he has given the impression
that he’s content to allow speculation about his circumstances to divide this
community – not exactly what most people would expect from an elected official.

We wonder how Lind could sit quietly in his seat Monday night
when the School Board discusses, in open forum, his request for a monetary
settlement. But that’s what he’ll have to do.

Via Llloydletta, here is an editorial the Star Tribune recently ran.

You can bet it will be a packed house on Monday night!

Rather than face what would at the very least be an awkward situation, School District 719 (Prior Lake-Savage) Superintendent Tom Westerhaus has decided to resign effective at the end of his contract in June.

“The election to the board of a former employee, whom I had progressively disciplined and ultimately recommended for final dismissal from employment in our district last
summer, confirmed for me that it was time to move on,” Westerhaus said in a letter to district staff. “The community has spoken through this election, and therefore I will seek employment elsewhere to more successfully continue my 35+ years in education.”

Also during Tuesday’s election, two bond referendum questions failed by wide margins. Westerhaus said the voters have spoken, presumably about both the desire to not have a referendum and the feeling that Lind was wrongly terminated.

I find two things to be peculiar about this situation. First, the referendum failed by a wide margin, yet of the three incumbents running for re-election, two were victorious (finishing first and second for four seats; the board has seven seats total). Since voters were upset about the question put to them, why didn’t they “kick the rascals out” wholesale when they had an opportunity to replace nearly half of the board? I don’t want to hear any excuses about cronyism; board incumbents were successfully defeated last year in Winona.

Second, if the citizens were upset that Lind was fired, why was Dick Booth, who was one of two “nays” on Lind’s termination vote, sent packing?

Questions, questions…

I can’t believe we forgot to post this:

As a part of the events of the DFL State Central Committee meeting this Saturday at Prior Lake High School (in Savage), the four contenders for the DFL nomination to take on incumbent GOP Sen. Norm Coleman will debate the issues at 4:00 p.m.

Democratic U.S. Senate hopefuls Mike Ciresi, Jim Cohen, Al Franken and Jack Nelson-Pallmeyer will debate Saturday, Nov. 10, at Prior Lake High School, 7575 W. 150th St., Savage, from 4 to 6 p.m. The debate is open to the public, but seating is limited to 450. The door will open at 3:30 p.m.

The audience will be asked to submit questions prior to the start of the debate. Each candidate will give a five-minute opening statement. Then questions will be asked. Each candidate will have three minutes to answer and a one-minute reply or rebuttal if they choose. The debate will end with a two-minute closing statement by each candidate.

As it’s right my my backyard (well give or take a few miles), I will be there!

Chris Lind, former Prior Lake High school campus supervisor who was fired following allegations of improper conduct and insubordination this June, was elected Tuesday to the body which fired him.

Lind, who finished forth out of eight candidates for four seats for the Prior Lake-Savage school board, was fired after violating district orders not to be in contact with students off-campus. Lind would also allegedly give students “advice” about matters such as homosexuality. Lind, a devout Christian, would tell students that according to the Bible homosexuality is “inappropriate behavior.” One student allegedly overhead Lind speak of “National Pick on Lesbians Day.”

A petition in support of Lind was started when the possibility of his termination came up. Following the termination he threatened to sue but according to the Prior Lake American nothing has yet been filed.

Lind told the American last month he had no ulterior motive for running.

Lind maintains he was wrongfully terminated and data privacy limited discussion. No criminal allegations were involved, he said. He had mentioned pursuing legal action, but no lawsuit has been filed.

Lind says the termination is not his motivation for running. If any legal action would come up, he would abstain from voting as a member of the board, he said.

“I’m not doing this out of spite,” he said. “Three years ago, I wanted to run. For the 2006-07 budget, we had to cut $800,000. The next year, it was more frustrating to cut $1.6 million out of the budget. You just have no idea what that does to the staff.”

One casualty of Tuesday’s election was the fifth-place finisher and three-term incumbent Dick Booth, who voted against firing Lind. Incumbents Diane Ziemann and Eric Pratt finished first and second, respectively. Newcomer Dee Dee Francis finished third.

Also on the ballot were two bond referendum questions. The first question, which failed 40 percent to 60 percent would have hired more teachers and funded the opening of Redtail Ridge Elementary (which gets mothballed now?), among other things. The second question, which failed 38 percent to 62 percent, would have provided for an addition to Prior Lake High School, currently at capacity.

This blogger is an alumnus of Prior Lake High School. Not the “new” one opened in 2004 that is already overflowing with students but the “old” one which is currently used as Twin Oaks Middle School. I also graduated before Lind began employment with the district, so no, I don’t know him personally or anything like that.

Apparently, I wasn’t the only one concerned when the Savage City Council via consensus decided to continue with plans to raze a rare Maple Basswood forest.

A letter to the editor from Christina Henning in the Prior Lake American shows perplexion as well:

Let me get this straight:

First, the Met Council, the Minnesota DNR, a local expert and an Environmental Assessment study together point out that a rare forested area known as SS-9 exists in south Savage and that it should be protected at all costs.

Second, the decision is made to build a new high school that will be filled to capacity within two years on land adjacent to SS-9.

Third, supposedly to everyone’s surprise, Prior Lake Aggregates decides its use of the gravel pit on the exact opposite side of SS-9 is at the end of its life, so it decides to develop the land for housing.

Lastly, the Savage City Council meets to discuss the demise of SS-9 and collectively pretend that they had no idea SS-9 was going to be bulldozed right from the start.

Hasn’t anyone any sense on our [Savage] City Council these days? Is there no one who has enough decency to stand up to big-money developers?

Apparently the high school kids will get a front-row seat in higher learning when the chain saws and bulldozers move in and the wildlife moves out.

Today’s lesson in suburban values?

It’s all nice and chummy to talk about protecting the environment for the future, but as benevolent Savage Mayor Tom Brennan says, “People want to see and use their natural resources.”

I’d like to thank the mayor for thinking and speaking for me, by the way. Never mind the ludicrous, idealistic folly inherent in the notion that a rare, forested wild land carries value.

Bring on the bulldozers! There’s money in that there forest!

Now that’s ethical leadership in action.

Comments to the original story on the Savage Pacer website show more citizens less than gung-ho about the proposal:

I personally will not be voting for any member that chooses development over preserving this resource. When the school site was developed, the adjacent woodland was described as a resource that would be used by the school to teach the importance of preserving our natural resources and the forest would prove to be a valuable teaching tool. The school district understood that this land would not be developed. If the school district needs more fields, let them build a second high school. The last thing that we need is another mega high school more devoted to athletics than education.

One council member stated if he was still in high school he would jump off the steep embankment needed to preserve the forest. Lets just hope that our children have a lot more common sense then him. If there are any water tower garfetti cases open from forty years ago, I think we have a suspect.

Terry O’Connell

<blockquote>

Indeed, the concern over jumping off the steep embankment seems far fetched, but you never know with those rascals in high school.

In my opinion, this is another statement from our politicians that do not have a clue what is best for its inhabitants. What can change in six short years. If a forest area is rated excellent, why change that? There was a reason it was preserved during previous development, keep the same.

Another one shows Mayor Brennan’s disconnect with the folks:

As Mayor Tom Brennan said “no one can feel it, use it” Does that mean we can destroy it with a clear conscience? No! The next time your at the Minnesota Zoo look for the sign at the beginning of one of their exhibits that says we are destroying 27,000 species of animals and plants a year! Why should we let this go on in our neck of the woods? Scientists say “this can never be recreated”, Christians would say “We can’t continue to destroy the beauty of God’s creation!” Parents would say “What kind of world will our children have if we continue like this?”

It has been amazing to see Savage grow from a town barely on most maps to a town developed to the stage it currently is. Let’s hope the council takes a step back on this issue.