School district puts politics above kids

Editor,

In a closed-door meeting in May, the Somerset County Board of Education voted to terminate School Superintendent Ava Tasker-Mitchell. The Board left the meeting without answering questions from parents who waited outside the closed doors. No reason to support the firing was provided. One parent politely asked a question while videoing the departing members; the Board Chair called the police, saying that there was a man engaging in a violent confrontation against Board members.

When the Board announced the firing of every school librarian many parents objected. Firing librarians was the final straw. Steps had already been taken that would allow the Board to determine which books must be removed from school library shelves. The library should be the heart and soul of every school, the repository of learning, a place for community engagement, a place to encourage wisdom and truth seeking, welcoming to everyone.  A library must not be a tool to limit learning.

The fate of Superintendent Tasker-Mitchell is in the hands of the Maryland State Board of Education. Coming from a party that espouses parental rights when it comes to their children’s education, it is particularly hypocritical that parents are barred from voicing their opinions, that doors are closed to parents during important decisions, and that parents are cast as aggressors when exercising their rights.

Kudos to the parents of Somerset County who put their children above politics.

Ronald W. Pilling
Bishopville