John Brueggemann, Vice President of the Saratoga Springs Board of Education appears to call parents who complained about sexualized content shared with their 9th grade children, "bastards," in a written communication to Damien Ubriaco.
On Monday, Moving Saratoga Forward reported on a story about parent complaints over a Saratoga Springs High School English Teacher who, according to them, shared sexualized content with his 9th grade ELA class.
Now, thanks to a Freedom of Information Request, we can see how at least one of the members of the Board of Education responded to parent concerns.
Timeline:
Oct 21: Damien Ubriaco assigns the short story “Gravity” to his 9th grade ELA class.
Oct 28: Parents begin to complain about the assignment, calling "Gravity" inappropriate for public school children due to the subject matter and language used in the story. At least one parent spoke negatively about the assignment during the Oct. 28 Board of Education Meeting.
Nov 4: John Brueggemann sends an email to Damien Ubriaco calling him a “Rockstar” and includes the Latin aphorism “Illegitimi non carborundum”.
According to Oxford Reference, “illegitimi non carborundum” translates to mean: “Don’t let the bastards grind you down”
Parent Group Responds:
Excellence in Education for Saratoga, the parent group that brought attention to this story said in a statement:
“Parents can respectfully disagree about whether or not the sexually explicit content shared in the SSHS 9th grade classroom was appropriate.
However, we should be able to agree that dismissing the honest concerns of parents as “illegitimate” is unbecoming of a school board trustee.”
John Brueggemann is currently running for re-election to the Saratoga Springs Board of Education. Election Day is May 17th.
**FOIL documents below**
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