Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Public Comment Wasb Gifted Talented topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Public commenters at Fond du Lac board meeting describe WASB resolutions as advisory, raise gifted-and-talented racial gap
Summary
At a Fond du Lac School District meeting a WASB delegate said statewide resolutions are advisory, not law, and a resident urged the district to address a persistent racial disparity in the gifted-and-talented program.
Mrs. Moner, a Fond du Lac School District board member and delegate to the Wisconsin Association of School Boards, told the board that the association’s resolutions are advisory and not legally binding, and said delegates use them to shape lobbying priorities in Madison.
"Basic mostly, all of these resolutions were okay, but, again, these are not law," Mrs. Moner said, describing the resolutions as "potential feedback" and an agenda for lobbying rather than binding policy.
The remark came during the meeting’s public comment period and followed by an account of a keynote speaker, Clint Swinwall, whose professional-development tagline Mrs. Moner said was "tell me something good." She said she is preparing a document summarizing the resolutions and invited anyone who wants a copy to contact her through the district website.
Resident Charlotte Trotter spoke during the same public-comment period to praise the district’s continued participation in the African Heritage Inc. student festival and to raise concerns about representation in the district’s gifted-and-talented program. Trotter said she reviewed district data for the past three years and found that the number of Black students identified for the program was three in each of the three years she examined; she said the number of white students "has risen and risen and risen" over those years but did not provide exact counts for white students.
"That's where I look at stuff and I say do better," Trotter said.
A board member (unnamed in the public record) urged residents seeking information about a pending referendum to contact district staff, specifically naming Mr. Gerlach, and warned that social media contains inaccurate, agenda-driven information. "Call Mr. Gerlach, call the school district, get the truth," the board member said, adding that district staff can explain how school financing works.
These remarks were offered as public comment; no formal board action or policy change resulted from the comments during the meeting. The board proceeded to other agenda items after the public-comment period.
