From opposing an incredible hire over social emotional learning to backing Valor, there’s reason to suspect that Greg Brown is fed positions to take and then takes them, regardless of if he understands why. The most obvious-seeming example of this came as CCS was adopting the state-approved Wit and Wisdom curriculum for elementary literacy.
When it came time for a routine board vote to approve the curriculum, Greg Brown had the following to say. If you don’t want to watch the video, he basically accused some of these children’s books of inappropriately teaching a one-sided worldview.
First, yes, sharp-eyed viewers, that’s current Carmel Excellence candidate Dina Ferchmin in the bottom left corner of the wide shots of the video. For some reason, Greg Brown seems to have coordinated with her to have her sit in the front row and film his comments. They do that sometimes, presumably to generate campaign materials to send to their supporters.
Next, note that while he wasn’t able to name the pieces he found concerning, Greg Brown said he would provide examples to the rest of the board and administration after the meeting. He did not do this. I reached out to the board and administration multiple times to check, as I wanted to see what he found objectionable.
I find it a near certainty that Greg Brown didn’t provide the examples because he hadn’t looked into what he was objecting to prior to raising the objection. Note his comments about ‘some similar conclusions in other school districts’ and that he ‘received some links just recently.’ The source of his information seems to come into focus a bit when you Google terms related to Wit & Wisdom objections and find that it’s a curriculum that’s been complained about by various Moms for Liberty chapters.
A handful of books in particular seem to have generated the most complaints, so I purchased two of them. If you want to check them out, here are a pair of long (and likely extremely boring) videos of me reading them.
Since he refused to provide the promised follow-up to his colleagues, it’s impossible to say if Greg Brown actually objected to this book or possibly just regurgitated something passed to him by Moms For Liberty and then regretted doing so. Either possibility, combined with his blatant lack of transparency, speak poorly of his performance as a board member.
If not Carmel Excellence, then who?
If you're proud to live in one of the top school districts in the state...
If you appreciate and support our teachers...
If your kids have benefited or are benefiting from a world-class CCS education...
If you want our schools to stay welcoming to all students and their families...
I hope you'll join me in opposing Carmel Excellence and voting for Jon Shapiro and Kris Wheeler.
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As mentioned on the homepage, this site contains both facts and my opinions on those facts. I believe the difference is quite obvious, but if you question which category any particular statement falls into, please reach out via the Contact page and I will be glad to clarify.
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