Mayor Disagrees with Pledge of Allegiance

Wisconsin State Journal ^ | 10/11/01 | Doug Erickson

[brewcrew]

Mayor Sue Bauman has joined critics of the Madison School Board's policy on the Pledge of Allegiance.

In a statement Wednesday, Bauman said she disagrees with the board's decision.

"It is important that Madison residents and others understand that this policy is the Board of Education's attempt to respond to the new state requirement," she said. "It should not be construed to reflect the policy or the attitude of Madison's city government or its residents."

Bauman said a better approach would be to let individual schools set policies that "best reflect the interests of the children and families they serve." She asked the board to revisit the issue and "address the widespread concerns and negative reactions that are being generated by Monday's action."

The School Board voted 3-2 to prohibit use of the pledge as a way to comply with a state law requiring a daily moment of patriotism in schools. It has since delayed implementing that decision and has scheduled a meeting Monday to reconsider its policy.

[brewcrew]

Notice how the mayor has distanced herself from the board, but you can tell she personally agrees with the initial action they took because she immediately offers up an excuse ("this policy is the Board of Education's attempt to respond to the new state requirement"). At the same time, she finds it necessary to tell the board how to do their job ("Bauman said a better approach would be to let individual schools set policies...").

Somebody needs to get these jokers in line.

[brewcrew]

Sorry, the title I chose is misleading. It should read, "Mayor Disagrees with Pledge of Allegiance POLICY." My bad. Not in proofreading mode yet today.

[LavaDog]

Who are members of school boards? And how did they get so much power in formulating the education of our children? American Parents need to get off our a$$es and take back OUR childrens minds.

[Mind-numbed Robot]

From what little I have read, Madison seems to be a little knot of lefties in a state that lists to port anyway. In the land of the free I am not sure what to do about government employees who refuse to pledge allegiance to their country.

[TexRef]

Sorry, the title I chose is misleading. It should read, "Mayor Disagrees with Pledge of Allegiance POLICY." My bad.

No, the title you chose is correct.

[brewcrew]

;^)

[brewcrew]

From what little I have read, Madison seems to be a little knot of lefties in a state that lists to port anyway.

It's an odd place. I was born and raised here, and most people I come in contact with are basically conservative. Maybe I just know how to pick my friends and associates. The two big bastions of liberality are Milwaukee (union mentality very pervasive) and Madison (University of Wisconsin), but Madison leads the way in ideology.

The rest of the state is pretty conservative, IMHO.

[ikanakattara]

You ask, "Who are members of school boards? And how did they get so much power in formulating the education of our children?"

School board members are elected by those within the school district. How long they serve depends on local rules. (It's usually a 2 or 3 year term.) In most communities, anyone who is a resident of the district, a registered voter, and 18 or over can run for school board. Most school board elections don't have big turnouts, and so it's very possible for conservative candidates to get elected and make a substantial difference to how local schools are run. In some cities, conservatives have gotten together and formed slates, so that a whole group of conservatives gets elected at one time.

[Mind-numbed Robot]

Thanks for the info. Sort of a miniture red and blue area map, just like the rest of the country. As you mentioned, that seems to correspond nicely with labor union and NEA influence.

[brewcrew]

An update: Heard on the news this morning that the Madison school board received over 16,000 e-mails on this subject, the vast majority being critical of their action. Also, Jim Doyle, the Wisconsin Attorney General (a democrat and a leading candidate for governor), went on Mark Belling's talk show yesterday condemning the actions of the board.

We done FReeped 'em but good!