Monday, October 22, 2012

John Hoffman:

“Point of information…I want to speak out in opposition of the appointment of Bryan Lindquist to the anti-bullying task force.  Mr. Lindquist, representing the Parent Action League, has repeatedly spoken out against affirming all students and does not support the current policy. Mr. Lindquist has publicly stated that LGBT individuals suffer from a disorder.  This kind of language and sentiment has no place on this task force and does not represent the views of the vast majority of residents that I am talking to within  the Anoka-Hennepin School District, and it certainly doesn’t represent the needs and rights of all students.  The time for this debate is over, and the debate on this policy is over.  I ask that Mr. Lindquist be removed from the task force and another member appointed.”

To The Editor:

Anoka-Hennepin School Board member, John Hoffman (D), is running for State Senate (District 36) against incumbent, Benjamin Kruse (R).

On March 5, Mr. Hoffman voted in favor of settling the frivolous lawsuit filed against our school district back in July 2011.

Comments made by district officials along with media reports at the time the lawsuit was settled would have citizens and taxpayers in the school district believing that the total settlement amount of the lawsuit would be $770,000.00 ($270K to the plaintiffs and $500K for other actions required).

Don’t be fooled folks! The actual cost to cover all the prescriptive actions required in the consent decree will actually cost the taxpayers about  $1,325,000.00 per year for the next five years.

This doesn’t include the cost for the three consultants that were hired from Great Lakes Equity Consultants out of the University of Indiana.

Albeit the federal government is paying for the three consultants; we all know regardless of where the money comes from be it “local” government or “federal” government, it’s still our tax dollars. (Just more “federal” intrusion into our “local” school district).

These figures were shown in a budget spreadsheet mentioned with other items at the school board meeting on May 21. Feel free to contact the district office to obtain your own copy of the budget spreadsheet or watch this school board meeting on line (www.Anoka.k12.mn.us).  You can find this information about 90 minutes into the meeting.

Obviously Mr. Hoffman falls right in line with the rest of the liberal politicians who want to stick it to the honest, hard-working taxpayers. I guess it’s much easier to spend everyone else’s money!

The majority of citizens and taxpayers in this district supported the Sexual Orientation Curriculum Policy (SOCP) which upheld parental rights and required teachers to remain “neutral” in the classroom on discussions pertaining to sexual orientation.

Mr. Hoffman assured many parents and clergy that he would not vote to remove this policy. I’ll bet you can figure out what happened next. That’s right….Mr. Hoffman went back on his word and voted to repeal the SOCP.

Mr. Hoffman’s job as a member of the school board is to make decisions that are in the best interest of the students, families and taxpayers in this district.

Instead, he chose to turn his back on us and succumb to outside influences. Now the taxpayers will have to foot the bill of $6,625,000 (minimum) over the next five years; tax dollars that should have been used towards the education of our students.

Mr. Hoffman has failed miserably as our school board member and the repercussions of his actions will be devastating on many levels for years to come.

If  Mr. Hoffman can wreak such havoc and cause so much damage to the citizens, taxpayers, families and students in the Anoka-Hennepin School District, imagine the destruction he could cause at the state level.

I don’t reside in Mr. Hoffman’s district so I won’t have the pleasure of voting against him; but because I reside in the Anoka-Hennepin School District, I am affected by the decisions he has made and will be affected by his decisions at the state level if he prevails on election day.

So, the citizens and taxpayers in District 36 need to ask themselves some questions: “Is Mr. Hoffman fiscally responsible? Is Mr. Hoffman a man of his word? Is Mr. Hoffman someone I can trust? Is Mr. Hoffman someone who will make decisions that are in the best interest of myself and my family?”

This is a no-brainer people. Clearly, it would be in your best interest to vote for Benjamin Kruse on Nov. 6.

Laurie Thompson
Andover

Source: Frivolous Lawsuit (http://abcnewspapers.com/2012/10/17/letters-to-the-editor-for-oct-19-2012/) by Laurie Thompson

To the Editor:

I know school board member John Hoffman, and he is running for the state senate seat. I would, however, encourage everyone to take a close look at what he now stands for.

The list of his school board accomplishments on his website proudly states, “Repealed the ‘no promo homo’ language adopted in 1995. Subsequently replaced the sexual orientation curriculum policy.”

Believe me, this is not something to brag about. I was one of several parents who served on the health curriculum committee in 1995 that adopted the original policy.

It was not called “no promo homo.” John has adopted the language used in the Rolling Stone article — the poorly researched and distorted hit piece that attacked our school district and community on Feb. 16, 2012.

The 1995 policy read “…while respect be maintained toward all people, homosexuality will not be taught/addressed as a normal, valid lifestyle and that district staff and their resources not advocate the homosexual lifestyle.”

This original policy was passed because there were problems. AIDS and sex education classroom materials normalized homosexuality and taught students that to think otherwise is “heterosexism.”

The teachers’ resource list included the Minnesota AIDS Project (MAP), the Gay Men’s Health Center and the Gay and Lesbian Helpline for Youth and Adults. These are pro-gay advocacy organizations that distribute obscene and sexually graphic materials.

One MAP coloring page for elementary children included a phone number with pre-recorded sexually explicit information. The 1995 policy helped bring to light and block this kind of inappropriate classroom indoctrination.

In 2009, the 1995 policy was replaced with the sexual orientation curriculum policy that once again helped keep homosexual propaganda out of the school curriculum.

Mr. Hoffman assured me (and many others) that he would not vote to remove this new policy. Eventually Mr. Hoffman went back on his word and voted against the sexual orientation curriculum policy.

If he broke his promise while on the School Board, how can we trust him as a state senator?

Senator Ben Kruse can be trusted. He gets my vote.

Sincerely,
Barb Anderson
Champlin

Source: Letter to the Editor - Nothing to Brag About (http://abcnewspapers.com/2012/10/10/letters-to-the-editor-for-oct-12-2012/) by Barb Anderson