The August 25th school board meeting started out humorous enough, turned repulsive and ended with just plain goofery. The amusing part presented immediately. Three out-of-towners, who had traveled from Wayne and Eaton Counties, hijacked the meeting with repeat trips to the podium during the public comment times to lavish praise on School Board President, Eric Lawson… music to Lawson’s ears. A robust chorus of accolades from people who don’t live here, vote here or pay taxes here. Funnier still, presumed clown show facilitator, Monica Dziesinski, evidently had to exceed a 250-mile radius to find someone, anyone, willing to applaud the actions of this board.

The meeting took a sudden turn to the dark and ugly when one of the out-of-towners launched a tirade of hate-speech targeting students. Lawson made no attempt to halt the hate-speech and instead threatened to remove those in the audience who objected. When the interloper made a threatening statement to the audience, Lawson also said… nothing. Too afraid to condemn the hate-speech; too spineless to speak up in defense of the audience; too cowardly to be an advocate for our APS students. Lawson, as APS School Board President and as President of the Northeast Michigan Community Mental Health board, has an ethical obligation to denounce and condemn derogatory and harmful speech and actions, but yet said… nothing. Inaction is what allows hate and bigotry to take root and grow. Lawson knows this.

To add to the circus atmosphere, the meeting concluded with Sarah Costain singing a chorus of praise to herself, AJ MacArthur wondering out loud why people keep suggesting he shouldn’t be on the school board, and Monica Dziesinski signaling she is eager to

investigate yet another solution to a problem that doesn’t exist… keen to waste more tax dollars. From start to finish, a three-ring circus clown show.

DIANE O’CONNOR

Alpena