Ads say Elmbrook students learn ‘white people are racist’
Flyers call diversity effort ‘DNC partisan dogma’
The Republican Party of Waukesha County is funding political ads in the Elmbrook School Board race alleging students in public schools are taught that “all white people are racist.”
The ads support candidate James Gunsalus, who is running against incumbent Mushir Hassan in the nonpartisan race.
The election is April 6.
One of the flyers says that students in public schools are learning that “all white people are racist, so equality has never existed.”
The flyer says students should learn that “all people are created equal.”
That flyer also says, “Your tax dollars fund leftist indoctrination in Elmbrook Schools” and encourages voters to elect Gunsalus to return “American values to our classrooms.”
Another flyer includes graphs that show declining math and reading scores for students in Elmbrook Schools.
Information on recent test scores can be found at bit.ly/ForwardTestScores. Data on that site show that English and math scores in the Elmbrook School District have declined slightly in recent years, but also that the district is far ahead of state averages.
“The 5-part Elmbrook parent program in the fall of 2020 was titled ‘Leading the Way to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion’ ... while our students’ academic skills plummet!” the flyer says.
Michael Sereno, assistant superintendent for teaching and learning for the district, declined to comment on the school board race. But he addressed the claims about declining reading and math scores.
“Our students’ achievement and our district report card ranking consistently place us near the top of all school districts in the state of Wisconsin, and we were recently ranked as the top school district in the state of Wisconsin by Niche,” Sereno said.
Sereno added that the district’s report card information can easily be found online.
Chris Thompson, chief strategy officer for the Elmbrook School District, mentioned a 2020 petition from a group of Elmbrook School District alumni that called out the district for its “lack of response to the current injustices impacting our community, as well as the district’s curricular practices that neglect issues of racial justice.”
“Our equity work has also been very public this year,” Thompson said. “It’s important work,” he added. In an email to a reporter, Gunsalus wrote, “My view is that the Elmbrook school district is no longer a non-partisan institution. The Democratic National Committee’s objectives of Critical Race Theory and Diversity, Equity and Inclusion mandates are infused into Elmbrook’s curricula, staff training, and parent programming.”
A flyer supporting Gunsalus says students in public schools are learning that “success depends on systemic racism, privilege and group-think.”
Gunsalus called the district’s equity non-negotiable workgroup, which met to improve diversity, equity and inclusion in Elmbrook Schools, a “form of DNC partisan dogma and ideological indoctrination disguised as social justice, disguised as a new normalcy for our school district’s operations and curricula.”
“I believe that education must serve all students and transcend identity politics,” Gunsalus wrote.
Meanwhile, Hassan, who has been on the school board since May 2020, called the flyers “misleading and shocking.”
“Why is there such a partisan influence in a nonpartisan race?” Hassan asked.
Hassan praised the work the district has been doing regarding equity and inclusion.
“The acknowledgment of racism is not cancel culture. It’s simply acknowledging historical fact,” Hassan said.
In August 2020, a member of the community made defamatory comments against Islam, which Hassan practices, during an Elmbrook School Board meeting. Hassan has served as a past secretary on the board of directors for the Islamic Society of Milwaukee.
In January 2021, Hassan also said he was an “active participant” in the work of the equity non-negotiables workgroup.
In the Feb. 16 primary election, Hassan got 39.8% (1,789 votes), while Gunsalus received 33.8% of the vote (1,522 votes).