Crivitz Penitentiary

Good morning readers. Mrs. Wendy Gribben is running for the Crivitz School Board on a platform of equality and fair treatment for all our kids. There is a real breath of fresh air. Her letter to the Peshtigo Times was carved up by the paper and edited to death. She asked me yesterday to share with everyone that I know. What better way than on a blog with over 6,200 views in 2 months. Our little fishbowl, also known as Crivitz, has been run by the same people for far too long. I find it interesting that Drama gets recalled, and then gets voted in as board president again. I find it interesting that this same individual is found to be illegally coaching our youth, and gets voted back to coach. I find it interesting that the administrator, not-a-Man(s), decides to take bottled water out of the classroom. I’ve heard from over 50 kids how much they are upset about this. I find it interesting that the school decides to “randomly” drug test our kids, while hundreds if not thousands, voiced their displeasure. They are so brazen that they sent a message by “randomly” testing my daughter first. I find it interesting that they told us it was free. The school paid almost $9,000 to their lawyer to get his opinion on it! Also, if you do not believe any of this, please message me, or better yet, do an open records request yourself. That should finally open your eyes and free your mind.  Please make a change and vote for Wendy.

Here is here unedited letter to the PT. Stay tuned.

Dear Peshtigo Times,

I am Wendy Gribben and I am on the ballot for the Crivitz School Board. Despite also mounting a run for the House seat in Wisconsin’s 8th Congressional District, I intend to remain on the school board ballot because change is surely needed.

For a number of years I’ve seen double standards as well as conflicts of interest on the parts of school administrators and various members of the school board.  This has been especially prominent the last couple years with the controversy surrounding treatment of three girls whose interests were secondary to the Crivitz School District during the handling of the initial incident.

No matter what side of this issue you fall on, you must recognize even the most vile criminals are afforded legal representation during police interrogations when concerning potentially criminal matters. Not in Crivitz and certainly not in our schools.

Even if the school were acting in the capacity of a parent, as recognized in a 1996 U.S. Supreme Court decision, they should have recognized they were in conflict of interest in this matter having to cover their own best interests. The parents of the girls SHOULD HAVE BEEN CALLED to represent the girl’s interests as they were still minors. Children do not give up their civil rights any more than any other age group would be expected to. Their parents should have been allowed to either act as interim legal counsel or put a stop to the interrogation until counsel could be procured.

I’ve been asked “what if it had been your daughter?” We have a daughter who was molested when she was 9 years old. The perpetrator was allowed to have legal representation as afforded by the U.S. Constitution. Why would we expect less for our children? Although it was yet another case the county DA declined to prosecute (to keep her from being torn apart by a defense attorney), the point remains, if you’re going to criminalize our school children, you must still afford them some semblance of civil rights.

Also, the school’s interests are to protect the school and school district, not the kids. As we have unfortunately seen, they cannot simultaneously do both. That is conflict of interest.

The incident in question was described as locker room horseplay . Was it bullying? Was it hazing? How long had it been going on? How did it get out of hand? Why wasn’t there an adult in the locker room? So many questions, no answers. What are district policies regarding locker room supervision? Are there any? We appear to have a systems breakdown where three girls are paying the price.

I see discrepancies in penalties. My son was injured during a hazing incident his freshman year during football practice. The other boy was suspended one game. What did the girls get?

The bottom line is current members of the board do not have the interests of all students at heart.  All students must be treated fairly and justly. That is why my name remains on the ballot

Wendy Gribben
Middle Inlet