During the 2021-2022 school year, GHAPS received $249,232 in Title II money and another $71,281 in Title IV money from the Federal Government’s US Department of Education for the purpose of “supporting effective instruction.” This money was spent on activities such as Cognitive Coaching, Confronting Racism, and Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging.
The following items, totaling nearly $90,000, are seemingly meant to indoctrinate teachers and/or students in the woke mindset’s tortured view that society is structured by the power dynamics of racial group identity:
$2,128 – Literacy Book Clubs – Courageous Conversations on Race by Glen Singleton (56 books at $38)
$4,500 - Courageous Conversations Book Club Stipend ($25 for 6 sessions for 30 teachers)
$750 – Courageous Conversations Consultant
$9,000 - DEIB Committee Contracted Substitute Teachers (12 subs, for 6 full days, at $125 each)
$7,200 – DEIB Committee Stipend ($100 for 12 staff, for 6 meetings)
$2,800 - Confronting Racism Stipends (8 certified teachers, $50 for each, 7 sessions)
$19,200 - Confronting Racism Professional Development Live Online Course Module ($4,200) 2 memberships ($2,500 each) of 4 sessions for 5 certified teachers, and Leadership Academy ($10,000)
$5,000 – Resiliency Training with Rebecca Schippers
$3,381 – DEI Book Study (138 books at $24.50)
$34,500 – DEIB Coaching and Professional Development with Deanna Rolffs from Design Group International
In 2022, many GHAPS parents began asking questions about the Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging committee. They learned that the members of the DEIB Committee were hand-picked by the GHAPS Curriculum Director Mary Jane Evink based on their political ideologies. They learned that GHAPS staff members were paid stipends for participating in the DEIB Committee, and the meetings took place during the school day. The DEIB Committee studied topics of Critical Race Theory, racial equity, racism, anti-racism, oppression, white identity, white fragility, white privilege, and white supremacy. The DEIB Committee used a process they called curriculum enhancement to infuse DEIB material into the curriculum. They learned the DEIB Committee tried to influence thinking of other staff members through book studies and newsletters.
They learned that Deanna Rolffs from Design Group International was involved with teacher professional development, and had discovered videos of Rolffs expressing her worldview. Rolffs spoke frequently on the topics of white privilege, white supremacy, allyship, whiteness, and critical race theory. In addition, Deanna Rolffs and her co-worker Nichol Stith, the two process consultants, were paid members of the DEIB Committee.
When community members began asking questions about the DEIB Committee, they received a variety of different answers to questions, depending on who they spoke to. Although the GHAPS Board of Education has the ultimate oversight responsibility for everything that happens within the Grand Haven School District, the board seemed to have little information on the DEIB Committee. Board policy 0122 details the powers of the board and also indicates the board is responsible for overseeing Professional Development, but in 2021-2022 the DEIB Committee planned and executed professional development without the knowledge of the board.
It was disturbing to see how the individual board members, the superintendent, and curriculum director each had a different understanding of the role of the DEIB Committee. According to Curriculum Director Mary Jane Evink, the DEIB Committee was a district committee. She believed that enabled the committee to operate under her direction without answering to the board. Here are two quotes from former School Board President Carl Treutler, “In my mind [DEIB] is the same as the band parents“ and “DEIB Committee was not created by the board. It’s a separate group like Kiwanis or Knights of Columbus.” Apparently, Carl was not aware of the fact that members of the DEIB Committee received payment from GHAPS for their participation. In addition, he must have been unaware that the DEIB Committee was planning professional development for the district, because he would certainly not have approved of an outside group such as Restore Ottawa, for example, planning professional development. Christine Baker noted that the board passed a resolution around diversity, equity and inclusion and believed this gave Mary Jane Evink full authority to administer the DEIB Committee. However, she failed to note that the Pledge for Racial Equity was not signed by the full board. It was signed by former board president John Siemion and Secretary Nichol Stack, during a previous administration.
Nichol Stack, contradicted herself when speaking about the DEIB Committee. She first said, “The [DEIB] committee is a committee formed of us by us, and we brought in other community members, hand-selected.” Then she stated, “The DEIB Committee is Mary Jane.” Marc Eickholt was and still is a member of the DEIB Committee.
This video shows the various viewpoints of administrators and board members. The video asked the question “who is paying for the DEIB committee?” Recently, we learned that the majority of funding for the 2021-2022 school year DEIB committee came from Title II and Title IV funding.
Former board member Barb Pietrangelo was the only board member that seemed to take issue with the DEIB Committee. She asked many questions and received few answers. She noted that the board did not create the DEIB Committee and the DEIB Committee did not answer to the board. Professional development was not approved by the board and yet the DEIB Committee planned professional development. Barb might be gone now, but at least she was paying attention.