Letters
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- Written by: Mary Borjon
For the past several months, a small group of citizens has bullied, threatened and undermined the hard work of teachers, administrators and school board members. Why? Because they have not learned the basic civic lesson that some things must be done for the good of all.
I applaud the individuals who spoke up either in letters or in person at the most recent Middletown School Board meeting, letting the community and the current board members know that they have had enough of this constant badgering, manipulation of standard policy and procedure and disrespectful and threatening behaviors.
What goes on in any one of our school districts affects all residents of Lake County. This small group of people have planted the seeds of disruption in other districts as well.
If you are approached by someone from this group to sign a recall petition, stop and ask yourself if you want to contribute to more undermining of the Middletown School District, more manipulation of a well-established system and another costly recall action against the legally appointed, very qualified and newest member of the board, Chris Ochs.
These same petitioners have wasted precious school funding on one special election because they would not abide by the decisions of the current, legally installed school board.
They have methodically disrupted the everyday functions of a district that serves our south county. They are engaged in tactics that waste the precious time of those who are actively and professionally involved in the process of educating students.
It takes only a few signatures, less than 2% of the voting population, to activate a costly special election to fill a board vacancy. Less than 2% does not reflect the democratic will of the people.
Don’t contribute your signature to an unwise, unneeded, misguided and expensive petition that serves no real purpose.
Let the current board get on with their important work. Let the election in June settle the existing open seat. Middletown does not need a second petition resulting in another costly special election. Beware what you put your name to.
Mary Borjon lives in Kelseyville, California.
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- Written by: Carolynn Jarrett
My point is this: The book is historical fiction. “Historical” means that there is some nugget of truth or fact. “Fiction” means that most of the story is made up. Most readers, including fourth graders, can discern that authors twist facts, add their own details, exaggerate, or just plain lie. It’s up to the reader (or the teacher) to ferret out the truth, or perhaps, to just enjoy the story for what it is, a fictionalized survival story about a young girl abandoned on an island.
I am retired now, but I taught fourth grade for many years and this story was always part of my curriculum. We read it together and even my most “reluctant readers” were very engaged. It was a great introduction to the study of California Indians. ODell wrote this story in 1960, long before the PC and woke movements. Today, teachers could easily incorporate fact checking as part of the lessons. They could also add (not replace!) other stories, either by native authors or about native people. In other words, deepen and broaden the lesson.
I think we do not give children enough credit for understanding complex or contradicting ideas. Heroes can have faults, because they are human, after all. Ideas that may have seemed true or appropriate at one time, we now know are not correct or fair. The earth is not flat after all!
Please do not deprive students of this wonderful book! Help them to understand that it is not factual in its representation of the Aleut people, but please do not take away a story that so many have loved for so long.
Carolynn Jarrett lives in Clearlake, California.
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- Written by: Kate Schmidt-Hopper
In the USA, if a citizen is accused of violating a law, she has the right to a jury of her peers. Evidence is presented, and the jury is asked to listen to the evidence, without bias and prejudice, and do their best to sort out the Truth, knowing all the while that the prosecutor wants a conviction, and the defense wants exoneration.
For a community’s children, the elected school board is like a jury. The board of trustees listens to the “evidence,” in other words, advice, requests and requirements of the State Board of Education, OSHA, labor unions, legal counsel, accountants with budgetary guidelines, the local administrators, the teachers and all their support staff, the parents and the children.
The trustees then in closed and public sessions discuss all these variables and come to decisions. This is a difficult task, because they know someone will be dissatisfied with the outcome.
In the end, the community, and the trustees, have one guideline: what is best for ALL the children. This is our “rule of law.”
Public school creates our next generation of citizens, and thereby must be inclusive. The needs of every child must be considered, regardless of intellectual, physical, emotional or socioeconomic status.
The bottom line is the opportunity to learn: reading, mathematics, science and technology, health, team building, leadership, problem solving, communication skills, conflict resolution, artistic expression, and the rewards of diligence and dedication — all while attempting to help the students enjoy the process!
Public schools teach our children how to be part of a community. As a community, we need to teach by example about how to discover points of agreement, and build consensus from there.
I implore everyone on the board to take that first step, for ultimately, we all love our children. Thank you.
Kate Schmidt-Hopper lives in Hidden Valley Lake, California.
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- Written by: Charise Reynolds
First, I’d like to thank those of you who have shown support. I hate asking anyone for anything, especially money. But, I just keep reminding myself that I’m not asking for me, but for our schools: especially our kids and our teachers. You guys are amazing and with your support, we are going to turn things around for our district.
Secondly, I’d like to set the record straight about the innuendos floating around.
I’ve been referred to as the lady who “called the police on peaceful parents” at a school board meeting. The majority of those in attendance that day were not exactly peaceful. At least two members of the board were shaking and crying as the crowd got more and more aggressive. I called the sheriff because I feared for the safety of the board.
Prior to that, I had tried to get the unmasked members of the crowd to either mask up or step outside at least until after the presentation of the awards to the students who were in attendance. However, I was shouted over.
Eventually (and before the sheriff arrived), the meeting was moved outside which seemed to deescalate things.
They can deride me all they like. I made a judgment call and I stand by my decision. Should anyone wish to view the actual video of that meeting for themselves, I will be posting it on my campaign Facebook page.
I’m also being accused of having said I would “force vaccines on our kids.” Someone even went so far as to take a photo of my son off of my personal Facebook page and post it online in the comments section of the article. They wrote, “If she would do it to her own son she would do it to yours.”
My child made the decision to get boosted on his own. He asked me repeatedly when it would be time to make an appointment; there was no forcing it. While it appears that the admin of the page has since removed the photo, I must say I’m a little shocked that someone thought using a photo of my child was OK. I’m prepared for people to sling mud at me, but leave my child out of it.
To be clear, what I said was. “I believe in vaccines because they work.” However, I am not now, nor have I ever, actively lobbied to have a vaccine mandate. Should I be so honored as to win a seat on the board I will have to uphold whatever laws are in place at that time. To do otherwise would jeopardize the district’s insurance and create a liability.
I hope that clears things up for those who may have been confused by the open hostility in the comments section of the article announcing my candidacy, yesterday.
I look forward to getting back to discussing the real issues of our district: the budget, the bond money, the LCAP funds and supporting our teachers.
Charise Reynolds lives in Middletown, California.
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