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Written by Lassie
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Friday, 15 February 2008 18:22 |
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A District 281 principal made a costly mistake for endorsing Mike Ciresi in a school newsletter. From the MN Sun-Post,
Cooper High School Principal Mike Favor on Feb. 12 issued an apology for what appeared to be an endorsement of congressional candidate Mike Ciresi in the February 2008 issue of The Bridge, the school's newsletter to parents.
Describing in a "Principal's Letter" in the publication how he's sought the counsel of community leaders on education issues, Favor wrote about the mentorship he's received from Mike Ciresi, chairman of the executive board of Robins, Kaplan, Miller and Ciresi law firm in Minneapolis. He identified Ciresi as a candidate for Sen. Norm Coleman's Senate seat.
"He leads by example in his dedication to young people and their families," Favor wrote, noting that Ciresi's law firm has a public foundation that funds education, public-health and social-justice programs.
The calls and emails started coming in to Superintendent Stan Mack's office from parents objecting to Favor's political endorsement.
Favor agreed to pay to mail a letter of apology to the family of every Cooper student. It will cost about $200 Mack said.
"It was not my intention to advocate for the candidacy of any individual, including Mike Ciresi," Favor wrote in the apology letter. "I must also emphasize that the comments set out in that Principal's Letter were not approved and/or sanctioned by the School Board of the School District, its administration, or staff.
Curious. Unions have a long tradition of endorsing DFL candidates, and pushing their partisan campaign literature to members every campaign year. I bet Favor didn't even think twice before sending it off in light of that tradition. It looks like the Superintendent's office staff didn't think twice either.
The superintendent's office is supposed to review such documents prior to publication, Mack said, but in this case, an assistant principal designated to secure permission for the letter never made the telephone call.
"Mike delegated someone to send the message to ask, but they never got an affirmation from my office," Mack said. "They should not have moved forward with it. Had the call been made, this never would have happened."
The encouraging part is Principal Favor owning up to his mistake and sending the apology letter paid out of his pocket. And kudos to those parents who weren't buying what Favor was selling.
Cross-posted and comments welcome at FreedomDogs. |
