Two sides spar over book during PdC school board meeting

By Ted Pennekamp

A book being used at Prairie du Chien High School caused a bit of a stir at the special school board meeting in the high school’s Little Theatre Monday evening.

Thirteen people attended the meeting, several of whom spoke either for or against the book “The 57 Bus,” which is part of the new reading program.

At the outset of the meeting, High School Principal Andy Banasik gave an overview of the Every Student Ready (ESR) reading program that has been implemented at the school this year. Banasik explained the Reading Counts program has been replaced by ESR because Reading Counts has not worked and the school needs to get students to read better and with more comprehension.

Students are reading the book “The 57 Bus” aloud in groups with an instructor, who also facilitates discussion about the book. There is no silent reading, in an effort to make sure each student is reading the book.

In addition to learning to read better, Banasik said the book promotes honest discussion about kindness, restorative justice, tolerance and forgiveness, which are qualities the school would like to see in its students.

The book is about actual events involving two teens growing up in Oakland, Calif., in 2013. One, Sasha, was born a white male but identifies as agender (without gender), wears skirts and attends a private school. The other, Richard, is an African American from a poor part of Oakland who attends a rough public school.

These two teens have no reason to meet, except for eight minutes every day they catch the same bus home. And one day, messing around, Richard spies Sasha napping and flicks the flame of his lighter to Sasha’s skirt, not realizing how flammable the material is. Sasha wakes up in a ball of flame, and begins to scream. Richard is charged with two hate crimes and faces life imprisonment.

What those who spoke against the book objected to the most was that one of the main characters in the book was agender. Transgender was the word bandied about at the meeting. Some parents called for pulling the book from the curriculum.

Parent Jane Achenbach said parents should have been notified by the school about the contents of the book. She said the book was controversial and also had bad grammar because the transgender character was referred to as “they” in many confusing sentences.

Science teacher Stephanie Timmerman said she was uncomfortable reading the book to students. She said she is a conservative person and also that the book was grammatically bad.

English teacher Natalie White defended the book and said she has experienced intolerance. She said the book is not meant to promote a transgender lifestyle but to promote empathy.

Dr. Mark Grunwald said he is a deacon in the Catholic Church, and he is concerned about the book because the number of troubled youth in society has gone up over the years. Grunwald said the book is recommended by Common Sense Media, which is a liberal organization. He said, that while the book has themes of empathy, tolerance and forgiveness, the problem he has with it is that it focuses on the transgender issue, which is a very divisive topic. Grunwald said 13 to 19-year-olds are trying to figure out what their own identities are.

Banasik told Grunwald that the Central Catholic High School website also recommends the book. He reminded that the book is about empathy and tolerance. Banasik said students won’t change genders by reading this book.

“What does it say if we pull this book,” said District ACP/Testing Coordinator Karen Sjoberg. She pointed out students can read an alternate book with the librarian if they and/or their parents have reasonable objections.

The school board made no decision about the book Monday evening, but said the topic will come up again in the future. Monday’s discussion was an informational session and a start to the conversation about the book.

In other business, the board decided not to hire a theatre director for the new auditorium. Instead, the district’s music department will handle those duties. High School Band Director Matt Lenz, with help from Bluff View Band Director Stewart Slaman and many other people, will run the auditorium. The possibility of a theatre director position will be looked into again in about six to eight months.

District Administrator Robert Smudde said a fulltime theatre director is usually paid about $30,000 to $40,000 per year. He said the district is looking to have eight to 10 events in the auditorium per year. In addition, numerous entities have expressed interest in booking the auditorium. Smudde said the district would charge $1,200 per night for a non-profit organization. He noted a cost matrix is being developed for non-profit and profit entities to use the auditorium, which would generate revenue for the school district. In recent months, the district has received an average of one call per week from entities wanting to book the auditorium.

Duane Rogers, a member of Driftless Development, said the economic development organization is open to future discussions with the district about the possibility of sharing a person who would be the theatre director and also work for Driftless Development, because the auditorium obviously has the potential to bring in revenue for the school district as well as the greater Prairie du Chien area.

In further business, the school board voted 6-0 in favor of borrowing up to $800,000 for operating expenses. Board member Michael Higgins abstained.

Smudde said there currently is no cash flow, and the district needs the money mostly for payroll. He noted that the balance in Fund 41 has gone down from $2.5 million to $1.8 million. Smudde said the $800,000 loan will be paid off within this fiscal year.

In a separate issue, it was noted that the district still needs to pay $735,000 to Olympic Builders, of Holmen, for the recently completed school facilities upgrade project, which cost approximately $19.7 million.