EDINA, Minn. – Edina School Board Vice Chair Sarah Patzloff will retain her position on the school board following a five hour closed-door disciplinary meeting over a post on social media.
The controversy started in February when Patzloff expressed concerns over a blog post written by Jackie Roehl, a 10th-grade English teacher from the school district. Patzloff shared the blog post to a private Facebook group, calling it “frightening.”
Roehl’s manifesto focused on social justice issues and critical race theory, praising Pacific Education Group (PEG) and The National Urban Alliance for Effective Education (NUA) for helping to evolve her training philosophy. Roehl explained the need for racial justice training saying the predominantly white student population needs “help exploring issues of race and racism because their own white racial identity is invisible to many, and they reduce racism to something that happened in the past to other people.”
A complaint was filed against Patzloff for calling the material “frightening,” leading to a disciplinary review from the school board. The school board gathered Tuesday night to discuss the controversy. The meeting, which was mostly a closed door session, lasted over five hours.
Many concerned parents showed up to the meeting to voice their support for Patzloff, believing she was being singled out for her conservative views. The Deplorable Housewives of the Midwest live streamed the meeting on Facebook, and spoke with many supporters who expressed concerns over freedom of speech and the treatment of conservative beliefs within the school district.
The meeting wrapped up shortly after midnight with the school board deciding to take no further disciplinary actions against Patzloff. Patzloff read a statement expressing regret for her comments on Facebook, saying it “wasn’t my intent to offend anyone.”
“I would like to express my regret for posting comments on Facebook that were upsetting to some members of our community,” Patzloff said. “It wasn’t my intent to offend anyone. I will continue to strongly advocate for our students and hope that we can put this matter behind us and focus our attention on the work of the District.”
Edina school board Chairman Leny Wallen-Friedman also issued a statement following the meeting confirming the matter to be closed.
“The Board was required by its policies and practices to fully investigate this matter, and that independent investigation has now concluded,” Wallen-Friedman said. “No formal disciplinary action will be taken against Ms. Patzloff, and the Board considers this matter to be closed. No further information may be shared regarding the allegations or the details of the investigation, as such data is classified as private personnel data on Ms. Patzloff.”
Alpha News reached out to Patzloff for comment, but did not receive a response in time for publication.
