Colfax school board members say reaction at WASB assembly to Asian American resolution “shameful”
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By LeAnn R. Ralph
COLFAX — “It was shameful,” said Jaclyn Ackerlund.
Two Colfax Board of Education members, Ackerlund and Ken Neuburg, who attended the Wisconsin Association of School Board’s delegate assembly in January and reported on the assembly at the February 14 school board meeting, say the reaction of some attendees to the resolution on developing curriculum and professional training pertaining to the culture of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders was unexpected, perplexing and embarrassing.
Ackerlund attended the delegate assembly as a representative for CESA 10 while Colfax school board member Ken Neuburg attended the assembly as the representative for the Colfax Board of Education.
The other nine resolutions considered at the delegate assembly were approved with vote totals such as 268 in favor to 10 against and 246 in favor and six against, Neuburg said.
And then there was the resolution on curriculum and professional training on the history, culture and contributions of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders to the economic, cultural and social development of Wisconsin and the United States.
Neuburg said he chose to attend the convention in person, although the convention was operated as a hybrid where school board members could attend in person or attend on-line.
Ackerlund attended the convention on-line.
There were 162 people in person at the convention and 116 on-line using the Zoom platform, Neuburg said.
The vote on the Asian American and Pacific Islander resolution of 188 in favor and 81 against was “perplexing,” he said.
Part of the rational for the resolution is the sharp increase in hate crimes and incidents directed against people of Asian descent since the beginning of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic.
Some of the comments were so out of line that people went to the microphone at the convention and declared “point of order,” Neuburg said.
“It was shameful. I was embarrassed by some of the delegates and what they said,” Ackerlund said.
“I’m glad it passed,” Neuburg said.
The resolutions adopted by the delegate assembly help guide WASB’s legislative activity and establish the positions of the association.
Neuburg also noted that he had attended presentations on reorganizing media centers, library space and cafeterias.
In any school, the cafeteria is the most wasted of space since it is only used for an hour or two each day, he said.
In the future, cafeterias should be designed so that the space can be used throughout the day, Neuburg said.
More than 50 years ago, when this reporter attended school at Colfax, the cafeteria at Colfax Elementary was located where it is today, except then, the tables folded up against the wall when it was not needed as the cafeteria, and it became the gymnasium for physical education classes and also was used as a meeting space for other in-school activities such as practicing plays for classes, and for after-school activities, such as Brownies.
Another presentation Neuburg attended was about the impact of COVID-19 on student athletes.
COVID-19 has affected how kids can do sports and it has created psychological quality-of-life issues, he said.
Governor Tony Evers and the three keynote speakers were “outstanding,” Neuburg said.
The manager of the Milwaukee Brewers talked about leadership and correlated it to teachers, administrators and school board members, he said, reminding school board members that he is a huge Milwaukee Brewers fan, so he found the presentation to be particularly interesting and meaningful.
