My name is Ethan Fehrman, the acting president of the Irondale Art Club, and I’m here to share why the art classrooms should not be painted over. 

If you weren’t aware, the Mounds View School District is planning to repaint the Irondale art classrooms, erasing years and years worth of Knight history and art.

Currently, the main art rooms are painted floor to ceiling, featuring art by both teachers and students of years past. The adornment of these rooms has been integral to the Irondale community and atmosphere for years. The walls and cabinets of these rooms directly symbolize the creativity, honor, and pride of Irondale, people of all backgrounds having had their contribution. Beyond the visual, this is art, and art means something. Art holds stories words cannot convey, even acrylic on the walls of classrooms. 

In making this petition, I aim to let us as a community give our input and feedback before it’s too late. Whether teacher, student, parent, school board member, community member, alumni, or otherwise, your voice is important and deserves to be heard on this matter. 

Now is the time to act, now is the time to speak our minds. This decision has been spearheaded by Mounds View School District Safety Committee Director of Operations Chris Paquette, and the paint job is set to begin in Summer 2025, between this school year and the next. In order to come back to the Irondale we know and love next school year, please join in and make your opinion known. Do we want a future of grays and beiges in the places meant to inspire us?

The decision to erase the rich decoration of our school’s would heavily take from our creative community. Please join me in speaking out and sign this petition. No matter what, our innovative and adaptable community will push through and keep creating. At the same time, we should also respect the work laid out before us, the creations we’ve already been given. 

Thank you. -Ethan Fehrman