To the editor:

I read with interest the recent article concerning yet another tone-deaf decision by our local school board.

On top of closing Pinckney and Broken Arrow, now they have decided to limit the number of people who can file complaints concerning the content of student curriculum. In the words of one member (who is up for reelection), complaints will qualify for committee review only if they “come from a district stakeholder,” meaning parents of students.

While I have no intention of filing such a complaint, I am nonetheless offended by this new policy. Our property tax statement for last year indicated my wife and I paid over $2,000 in property taxes to the school district alone. While we may no longer be “stakeholders” with children enrolled in the district, we certainly pay enough to be considered “steakholders.” Instead, the new policy treats us as if we are chopped liver.

Kidding aside, I fear this new policy will be used as Exhibit A by Republicans in the Kansas Legislature next session to pass even more restrictive measures about the content of public school materials. While well-meaning, this policy may well back-fire. It should be rethought and revoked.

Jeff Southard,

Lawrence