I do not agree with the 2019 Hutchinson referendum to merge Early Childhood Family Education into the elementary school. These combined facilities make it too easy for a quiet and expensive expansion into child care. If ECFE needs an upgraded or new facility, this should remain a separate building, as it has always been.
The National Education Association wants public schools to expand into child care. Its Resolution B-1 for 2018-19 states, “The National Education Association champions early childhood education programs in the public schools for children from birth through age eight.” It also states, “The Association also believes that early childhood education programs should include a full continuum of services for parents/guardians and children, including child care.”
Future costs for child care should be shared upfront with this bond referendum so voters can make an informed choice for both the building and ongoing operating costs together.
Another reason parents should be against moving pre-kindergartners into an elementary building is the risk of Minnesota’s expanded comprehensive sex education. In 2019, the Minnesota CSE Bill, HF 1414 — legislation for which Planned Parenthood was involved and for which it lobbied intensely — passed the House with votes from all but two Democrats, and without any Republican votes. Thankfully, the Minnesota Senate stopped this bill from passing with its then one-vote Republican majority.
Please reference the Minnesota Child Protection League at cplaction.com/protect-kids-rally/ for more information. This should not be a left or right issue, but sadly it is in St. Paul! It should simply be a matter of doing right by children! If this CSE bill becomes law, it would be a mandate for all pre-K through 12 public and charter schools in Minnesota with no district opt-out. The curriculum must include instruction on illustrations so graphic that CPL reports that local TV would not air them, and a newspaper would not print them as supporting documentation along with a letter to the editor.
Let’s continue to keep our pre-kindergarten children at a separate building until this CSE issue is decided and reason returns to our Minnesota lawmakers.
Hutchinson School District residents may now vote early at the Hutchinson City Center, Monday through Friday, during regular business hours. All election day voting on Nov 5, whether one lives in a township or a precinct, will take place at the Hutchinson Recreation Center.
