SAINT PAUL, Minn. – St. Paul school board members don’t take kindly to criticisms.

For years, local elementary teacher Aaron Benner has spoken out about the frightening lack of student discipline in the school district, and how that situation ties in with special “white privilege” training and school discipline based on race.

Last May, five teachers spoke out about the chaos in St. Paul schools because of the lack of discipline, particularly for young black boys. Now, Benner and others are working to unseat school board members who have largely ignored their concerns, and the school board is fighting back.

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“The St. Paul school board voted Tuesday night to stop televising and streaming the public comments portion of its meetings, a move critics say strikes a blow to open government,” the Minneapolis Star-Tribune reports.

Only one board member, John Brodrick, voted against the change, which he said “betrayed the meaning of public comment.”

Brodrick’s colleagues argued the new system, which will start in September, somehow improves communication with the public because it includes a new online submission form that will be considered on the same footing as in-person comments. School officials still plan to hold a public comment period at 5:30 p.m., as it always has, but that portion will be separate from the actual meeting and will no longer be televised or streamed online, as is the case currently, according to the news site.

“In recent months, testimony has included efforts by parents to rescue school programs from cuts. In November, a group of Ramsey Middle School parents who were frustrated by a delayed response to unruly behavior spoke during the public comment period – some angered by what they claimed was a last-minute move by the district to dissuade them from appearing through the delivery of a school action plan that day,” the Star-Tribune reports.

On Tuesday, Center for School Change director Joe Nathan told board members they’re making a mistake by attempting to downplay public criticisms.

“Democracy is messy,” he said.

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The board’s decision to can public comments, however, is likely due in large part to Benner, and his efforts to expose that taxpayers are footing the bill for some very controversial teacher training and ideology that’s making St. Paul schools increasingly dangerous.

Like many districts, St. Paul is working to decrease suspensions of black students, who are typically suspended or expelled at a much higher rate than other students. It’s part of an effort lead by the Obama administration to force schools to create policies geared around keeping those students in school, even when they misbehave.

The result in St. Paul and many other districts has been chaos in the classroom, as unruly and dangerous students are no longer sent home, and many realize there’s no serious repercussions for their bad acts.

Instead of suspensions or expulsions, black students typically receive “restorative justice,” where they get to decide their own punishment. It’s a philosophy promoted by the Pacific Educational Group, a radical San Francisco-based organization that makes millions in consulting fees from school districts across the country, including St. Paul, each year, EAGnews reports.

The organization teaches that black kids frequently lag behind academically because lessons are taught in white cultural terms they don’t understand. PEG also teaches that black kids get into a disproportionate amount of trouble because school officials don’t understand their cultural norms.

“You are not doing kids any favors by making excuses for them because they are black,” Benner told EAGnews. “It’s not a matter of culture if you’re talking about norms that all cultures need to abide by – you cannot throw things or attack your teacher, regardless of your race.”

Benner quit St. Paul schools, where he taught elementary grades for 14 years, to take his talents to the Community Peace Academy, a local charter school with a much different take on student discipline.

He’s also running for a seat on the St. Paul school board with the aim of changing the dynamic in the district, though the recent decision to shield public comment from the public is a clear sign the board isn’t interested in real change.

“I was actually on a treadmill watching the movie The Untouchables” when the decision to run for the school board came to mind, Benner said. “It’s about Elliot Ness and how he was assigned to rid Chicago during the prohibition era of Al Capone and his cronies.

“It reminded me of St. Paul Public Schools and the arrogance, how they are not only corrupt, but are going to throw it right in our face and challenge you to do something about it.

“I thought to myself, somebody needs to be Elliott Ness,” Benner said.