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Alpena school board pushes anti-racism policy after trustee’s posts

Trustee slammed for Facebook memes

ALPENA — The Alpena Public Schools Board of Education today introduced a resolution committing the board to eliminating prejudice after one of the trustees was criticized for Facebook posts some saw as racist.

Resident April Behl on Monday told the Alpena school board she was concerned about memes Trustee Steven Donajkowski had recently shared on his personal Facebook page, which was open to public viewing.

Donajkowski reposted several memes showing controversial commentary on race and the Black Lives Matter movement. Many of the memes contained profanity directed toward people of color and supporters of the Black Lives Matter movement. One meme, for example, said “all lives splatter, keep your a** off the road.”

The memes were posted as recently as last month. Donajkowski’s posts have since been removed and his account has been made private.

At a special board meeting today to address the issue, “each of the Board’s trustees, including Mr. Donajkowski, had an opportunity to share his/her thoughts regarding the posts on Facebook and everyone was reminded of the district’s policy noting that ‘Postings to social media should be done in a manner sensitive to the board member’s responsibilities, applicable district policies, and legal obligations,'” board President Gordon Snow said in a written statement to The News. The statement called Donajkowski’s posts in “poor judgment.”

Donajkowski said earlier this week Snow has asked him to either resign or withdraw his name from the ballot in November, which Donajkowski said he had no plans to do. Donajkowski cannot be forced off the board because he is elected and answerable to voters.

Donajkowsk said today he doesn’t think the posts were in bad taste and believes his fellow trustees overreacted.

“The board reacted to someone’s personal opinion and views, and that is not what the board is supposed to do,” Donajkowsk said. “I’m still wondering what was so wrong to where I was called a racist and wanting to throw me off the board.”

Donajkowsk said he is not racist and believes “all lives matter,” but he said he will spend a lot less time on Facebook and will pay extra attention to what he posts.

“I’m done,” he said. “I’m done with everything on there.”

The school board is expected to pass the resolution at a future meeting.

Donajkowsk said he will still work with the other trustees, but “I’m going to ask a lot more questions and make sure their political views and outside pressures aren’t inhibiting the decisions we make that are best for the kids. They wanted me to resign, or pull my name from the ballot, and I almost did, but, because I don’t think what they did was right, I didn’t.”

Behl, the resident who alerted the school board to the posts, questioned at Monday’s board meeting whether they were appropriate for an elected official to make.

Behl declined to comment further this week, telling The News she wants to give the school board a reasonable amount of time to respond.

Donajkowski said on Thursday he had a public Facebook page because he wanted to be transparent, and he knew he could be criticized because of it.

“For the main part, I look to see what is best for students, not what’s best for me,” he said earlier this week. “For people to be attacking me and calling me racist, it truly hurts, because I’ve never once said anything about being racist or spoke against anybody of color.”

Donajkowski, who was elected to the school board in 2017, was the board’s vice president at the time the Facebook posts were made. On Monday, trustees made Stacey Parr vice president instead.

Snow, the school board president, and interim Superintendent Susan Wooden said they have responded to emails and phone calls about the issue throughout the week.

Snow said Donajkowski didn’t lose his right to make comments because he is a member of the board, but Donajkowski’s comments don’t necessarily reflect the opinions or feelings of other board members. Snow said he has seen some of the posts, and he does not agree with them.

Since beginning as interim superintendent earlier this month, Wooden said she has found Donajkowski to be deeply involved in facility projects, back-to-school planning, and board committee work.

However, Wooden said a board member’s personal use of social media may have unintended negative consequences for the board member and possibly for the district. She said social media posts must be done in a manner sensitive to the trustee’s responsibilities.

“The Board of Education’s intent is to provide an environment that fosters the respect and dignity of all people,” she said.

Wooden said she has spoken to Donajkowski about serving on the board, which she described as a “privilege.”

Donajkowski’s term is set to expire on Dec. 31 and he has filed for reelection in November.

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