An effective Public School Board of Education prioritizes the education and safety of students and staff without distractions such as using the political issues of the day to cause dissension among the parents and the community at large. I was in 7th grade in 1982 the last time there was a recall of Alpena Public School Board members.

The issues at the center of this recall are different from the recall in the 1980s. But in reality, some members of the current board are using divisive issues in the current political discourse as part of their personal agendas which subverts their roles as board members to adopt policies that enhance effective education in our schools.

These distractions have only stirred up controversy in the community at large, creating an environment that has led to a group of concerned citizens to form and take action to hopefully restore sanity to the Board of Education and allow for the resumption of order to Board of Education meetings that are geared toward effective education. Even if members of the community don’t currently have children in the public schools, they still need to be concerned by the actions and attitudes of some board members. It seems that some board members have a political agenda that is different from the majority of the community. In the end it is looking like this is coming to a head in another recall effort to change the direction the board is going. I wish the Concerned Citizens group the best of luck and hope their effort succeeds for the benefit of the children caught in the middle of this.

Todd Koss

Alpena