Stewart Rieckman
September 9, 2001 Oshkosh Northwestern
Free speech, exercised both individually and through a free press, is a necessity in nay country where people are themselves free.
-Theodore Roosevelt, 1918
If it were possible, I'd like to introduce Teddy Roosevelt to administrators in the Oshkosh Area School District.
There are some people in the district in dire need of a civics lesson, and Teddy Roosevelt would be my guy to deliver it. He carries a big stick, you know.
Teddy would tell them, I'm sure, that the school district's systematic effort, under the guise of public relations, to trample the free speech rights of its employees is arrogant and wrong.
Teachers and principals in the district have been told they may not speak with the media, including The Northwestern, without first going through the district's new PR flack. Then the PR flack wants to sit in on interviews. You can imagine how candid the interview will be with the PR flack sitting there.
The administration, we have been told, is fashioning a new media policy.
Of course, the new policy is designed to spin, rinse, fluff and fold the news and stamp it with a smiley face before it's ready for public consumption. It is designed to quash any contrary opinions or thoughts about education in Oshkosh. The message will become, "Everything is just fine and dandy in Oshkosh schools and , by the way, be sure to vote for the $12.2 million referendum in November."
I'm outraged and you should be, too. This attempt to manage the news is repugnant on a number of levels.
First is the inexcusable waste of tax dollars to have a PR flack on staff. Remember, this is the district that has perfected the art of whining and crying about revenue caps. I would bet teachers in the district could come up with better uses for $50,000 than public relations.
Second, city, county government and UW-Oshkosh employees do not need to go through a PR flack to talk with the press. Why are school district employees being treated as children who might say something embarrassing if not coached?
Third, it muzzles debate on legitimate pedagogical issues, such as Everyday Math. When we contacted teachers at random to get reaction to the controversial math curriculum, 10 teachers refused to comment. My guess is that several of them were afraid of retribution if they spoke to The Northwestern.
Fourth, it is an insult to employees of the school district to expect them to forfeit their free speech rights as a requirement of their job.
I'm confident there are plenty of teachers and principals in the district who understand the concept of free speech and free press and will talk to The Northwestern without going through the PR flack.
With their help, we will be able to cover the news and features in the school district.
But this district's attempt to gag its employees is odorous for the message it sends.
By hiring a PR flack and muzzling employees, the school district admits it is not interested in objective, independent reporting on educational issues. What they want is propaganda run through its news chop shop.
It makes you wonder what they have to hide.