SCHOOLS: Give 'F' to partisanship

Education should be the agenda of the people on our School District boards. Sadly, ideological partisanship has become a larger agenda. Interestingly, every candidate agrees that partisanship has no place, yet some candidates loudly proclaim their party affiliation on campaign materials, and accept funding from, and are active with, a highly partisan organization – the Reagan Republicans. Those candidates: Seddon, Regan, and Handeen, say one thing, but their actions speak the opposite. This raises questions of ethics and integrity.

The Reagan Republicans’ influence has been felt in board decision-making. Discarding the International Baccalaureate program is an example. These candidates state that our children should be “job ready”, knowing our children will enter a global economy. Nevertheless, a program preparing them for that was cut on ideological grounds, thus making our children less job ready. Once again, actions differ from words.

Turning our boards into places of partisan politics doesn’t serve our community or our children. Do we really dislike our children so much that we’ll make our school boards become as dysfunctional as Congress? Support Hazel, Hearn, and Eubanks. Although it's clear to me from their interview statements and campaign materials that I won't always agree with them, these people are committed to serving the educational needs of our children, not partisanship. Their agenda is about providing the highest quality educational experiences to students, making them truly job and life ready. This approach best serves the school district, our community, and our children’s future.

JOE JACOBY

Coeur d’Alene