Patsy Green can help you make a difference in a leadership role! For the Robbinsdale School District? No, for the senate district 45 DFL party :
We’ll let the image speak for itself along with your comments.
(see related posts: Did Patsy Green violate school board code of ethics? & Patsy Green: arrogant and partisan )
281 Care and Give2Attain both posted on our winning school board candidates and a conflict with their Robbinsdale Federation of Teachers endorsements. Give2Attain posted candidates’ campaign finance reports:
Here are the incomplete funding numbers. Apparently another reporting is due in 30 days. Also, they report for periods of time. So funds may have been there earlier or given later. Still this makes the point, special interests apparently fund the winning campaigns….
- Patsy Green ~ $2,602 raised ($500:Women Winning, $500:Union, $200:DFL 45th)
- Tom Walsh ~ $1832 raised (DFL 45th:$200, DFL 43rd: $500, Union:$500
- Linda Johnson~ $1,054 raised (Union: $500, Private Couple: $200)
- Mark Bomchill < $750 raised (Union: $500)
- All others <$750 or not reported yet.
Is this good or bad? Is the conflict of interest sufficient enough to be concerned? If we did something similar in business, would it warrant further review?
Maybe I should offer my Supervisor $500 because he is so nice… Maybe I’ll get a bigger raise.
Here’s 281 CARE’s take:
The Robbinsdale Teachers Federation Union endorsed School Board candidates won all four seats up for election November 3, 2009. Two questions; Is the RAS community better off with the status quo maintained? And more importantly: Is there a conflict of interest when the RTF endorses and funds school board candidates?
Let us cover the facts first. The School Board approves all union contracts and is part of the negotiations of employees’ contracts. The union contracts are negotiated every two years, which is the same year that School Board members are elected. Therefore, RAS employee union contracts are being negotiated during the same period that School Board elections are taking place.
Where else can a group of employees influence who is going to be approving their contact (pay and benefits)? The RTF union paid for advertising in the Sun Post and made contributions to their endorsed candidates. The total amount of their influence of this election can’t be measured but is probably the LARGEST SINGLE GROUP in the RAS District.
Remember this in 2011 when the other three seats are up for election. It’s up to parents and residents to overthrow this monopoly of special interests. If the RFT cartel keeps getting their picks on the board, expect more gains for union employees and losses for student performance and safety. Andrew Richter and Richard Brynteson (without much money or endorsements) almost won the fourth seat. Moral of the story: if you truly want change, you have to support the other candidates – and get out the vote.
“I would not put a charter school in a residential area to compete with our schools,” Boardmember Sherry Tyrrell said.
But Boardmember Jonas Beugen said he is more concerned about the district losing additional students.
“I think there is a place for charter schools,” he said. “They provide an opportunity for creativity and opportunities for doing things differently. We should keep our options open. Having charter schools in the community isn’t necessarily bad for our community.”
Boardmember Patsy Green maintained it is not “a level playing field.”
“Charter schools can do things we are not allowed to do,” said Green, who did not support the district’s sale of the former Lincoln School to Prairie Seeds Academy charter school.
Why are Patsy Green and Sherry Tyrrell so against charter schools in the district? This stat from a MN Sun Post article may be why:
The charter school segment has grown from 105 students in the 2002-03 school year to 620 students in 2008-09, outpacing non-public, home school and other public district school choices, Executive Director of Technology Dennis Beekman wrote in a memo to the School Board that was reviewed at the board’s work session Monday, Aug. 10.
Of the 620 resident students in the district who are attending 51 different charter schools, 507 (87 percent) attend 16 schools.
Green and Tyrrell don’t support giving parents options in our district. And we’ve seen the growing numbers of parents voting with their feet to other districts, charter schools and home schooling. Speaking of voting: unseat Patsy Green November 3.
These signs have been popping up around the district:
We weren’t surprised to see Mark Bomchill added with the incumbents. He seems a bit over-confident that he’s bagged the job, as shown in these lines from emails sent to 281 Exposed:
- If you knew me, you would vote for me. I am still convinced on Nov 3rd, you will be checking my name.
- When I am elected, I will need help to stop back door referendums.
- Let me tell you this, when I win I will always hear what you have to say and take it into consideration.
Sorry Mark, but that sign tells us that you four are for more of the same. Union members, not students are priority one – and you’ll likely follow their wishes over citizens if elected. The incumbents’ track record has been failing our students and district. Again, we encourage those who want needed change to vote for candidates without the RFT endorsement. Visit Teachers Unions Exposed for some of the reasons why, or AFT Exposed where we found this quote:
After all, it was Albert Shanker, former president of the AFT, who said, “When schoolchildren start paying dues, that’s when I’ll start representing the interests of schoolchildren.” (more…)
This letter appeared in the Oct. 15 Sun-Post, and echoes our stance on local control and responsibility:
Last week, it was opined in the Sun-Post that Patsy Green understands municipal vs. state funding of District 281 schools. It was stated that she wants “to help eliminate the burden from the tax payers.”
Let’s think about that. The last few years have proven that with local referendums we have control over how our schools operate and how our money is spent. When our schools are funded through the state (still our tax burden, by the way) we have a level of bureaucracy that enforces mandates and places restrictions on our district’s capital and our education options.
What’s next, federal funding and federal control? No Child Left Behind is working great, right?
I’d like to suggest a different path, a path towards local responsibility. Let’s elect stronger local representation that will be brave for us. Let’s elect members who will fight to retain local control of our education dollars.
Let’s keep the tax burden local and elect new talent from within our community so we will be able to control spending while improving the performance of our schools. Let’s look for local solutions that actually work, rather than mandates from above that waste our resources.
Let’s vote this year to take our schools back from big government.
You know the answers lie here within our neighborhoods, rather than off under a state or federal dome.
Support Andrew Richter and Jim Oathout this fall for District 281 School Board.
Chris G
New Hope
Green announced her candidacy in the MN Sun Post August 13. A section read:
My ongoing priorities are:
– Academic excellence
– Stable funding for public education
– Effective and efficient programs
– Lower class sizes
– Productive communicationGreat schools are key to good communities. I will provide the continuity crucial to keep this district moving in the direction so many residents wanted through their input in the strategic plan and successful referendum.
The only continuity Green has provided our district is ineptitude, and we give her a failing grade on all of her “priorities.” Read our archived posts for a history of Green’s performance as former Chair:
If there’s one candidate who doesn’t deserve re-election, it’s Patsy Green. The Sun Post announced Linda Johnson is seeking re-election, and we are hearing that Tom Walsh and Jonas Buegen may also run again.
We are also hearing that the field of opposing candidates is growing and we’ll post info on them as we get information. Candidates can file to run for school board Tuesday, August 25 through Tuesday, September 8, with a filing fee of $2. Two dollars and enough votes can buy a lot of healthy change in the district!
From Speed Gibson, who attended the Jan 5th school board meeting:
Also tonight in the annual Organizational Meeting, Robbinsdale School Board member Patsy Green stepped down as Chair. The new officers are now Chair Tom Walsh, Vice Chair Linda Johnson, and Treasurer Sherry Terrell. Helen Bassett continues as Clerk.
This is excellent news, after Patsy exposed herself as a partisan politician for Keith Ellison, then further tainted her image in a Channel 12 news interview last Saturday that she was “so giddy” about the 281 referendum passing. Imagine how happy residents will be when “P Giddy” is not sitting in any school board chair in 2009, and recuses herself from running for any future public office.
Even though enrollment is down, we were told that classrooms were crowded. The district (with Yes281’s help) succeeded in grabbing more of our tax dollars to hire 40 more teachers. Now we’re told that we have extra classroom space, and they may close three schools. This from the Star Tribune:
The Robbinsdale School District has enough extra classroom space to consider closing up to three schools, according to district consultants.
The findings, presented to the school board Saturday, don’t necessarily mean three schools will be closed. But consultants Wold Architects and Engineers and demographer Hazel Reinhardt told board members that cutting down on excess space could allow the district to close two elementary schools and one middle school. In part, the extra space is because of lower-than-expected student enrollment.
Initially, the district had planned on saving $800,000, equivalent to closing one elementary school, despite getting voters to approve a levy request last November that gives the district $9.4 million a year over the next seven years.
Board Chairwoman Patsy Green said she was surprised the district had the space available to get by with three fewer schools. “In the past, the most we’ve looked at is one to two school closings,” she said.
Consultants will present cost-saving scenarios to the board next month, said district spokesman Jeff Dehler. Green said she wants to hear those before making any decisions on closing more than one school.
The board considered closing a school last year after coming up short in a 2007 referendum effort, but decided to make other cuts instead.
Public meetings next month will gather input on the cost-cutting scenarios, and the board has tentatively set Jan. 20 as the date when it will decide which and how many schools to close, Dehler said.
The consultants will present their findings at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 16, at Plymouth Middle School, and at 7 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 18, at Robbinsdale Middle School.
Thanks to a dedicated 281Exposed reader for sending the article above. They added in their e-mail:
Also, according to the school lobbyist, more cuts were planned, even with the referendum, so hopefully closing additional schools will prevent that — and another referendum.
Speed Gibson also questions the lower class size benefits myth:
The battle shaping up is again: neighborhood schools vs. lower class sizes. We now know quite a bit more about the former, both operationally and financially. Unfortunately, we know relatively little about the latter. It’s not a level debating field.
Instead, we have little more than supposition that the benefits of lower class sizes are significant. Are they? Which is the better investment of the $800,000 involved: keeping a neighborhood school open or slightly lowering the class sizes in the remaining schools?
To date, District 281 considers the the case closed, that the benefits of smaller class sizes are obvious and axiomatic. Apparently they have to be, because there sure doesn’t seem to be much actual evidence, you now, like a contracted study.
Before the District makes any further decisions, I’d like to see them spend a little more on a study quantifying the benefits of closing still more schools to lower class sizes.
Another paid study will help, since our school board chair Patsy Green was unaware of the extra space actually available in the district she’s making decisions in.
Last month, we reported on an improper invite from Keith Ellison’s campaign using Patsy Green’s school board title and mentioning the 281 referendum. We asked the school board if Robbinsdale Schools officially endorsed Ellison, Franken and Obama. Only one response was given by Barb Van Heel:
Robbinsdale Area Schools does not endorse any candidate for office.
However, individual board members do not give up their constitutional rights as citizens to endorse candidates of their choosing, just as other elected officials are allowed to endorse candidates.
Thank you for your question.
Barb Van Heel
School Board Vice-Chair
We acquired the RAS bylaws, highlighting numbers 10-12 of board member duties and ethics:
We feel Patsy Green used her position (by listing her School Board title) in a partisan way and did not abide by these conduct rules. An Ellison campaign staffer said Green proofed the post card before it went to print. She took advantage of her position to promote a partisan campaign – violating #10, 11 and 12 of the code of ethics.
Contact the school board and ask how they handle ethic violations by school board members.
Word in the halls and the streets after seeing this post is not complimentary of School Board Chair Patsy Green.
That Keith Ellison would call her out by her title and specifically mention the Robbinsdale referendum on his literature was not well received by many in the district and in Yes 281. Some also feel this move by Green hurts the referendum support cause.
One regarded Green’s blatant partisanship to be arrogant, while many parents are working hard to pass the referendum. Since Ellison does not live in (or is affiliated with) the Robbinsdale district), why did he publish this and why did Patsy Green allow it?
Ask Patsy Green: Is Robbinsdale School District 281 officially endorsing Keith Ellison, Al Franken and Barack Obama?
P.S. Green’s term expires next year. Let’s make sure she’s not re-elected.
281 Exposed 
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