Endorsement Of Bennett Lasko: Letter

Written and submitted by Leslie Alter.

If you haven’t been following the election, that’s OK, there’s still time to get up to speed. There are nine 112 school board candidates because it is a hot race related to the community debate about what a reconfigured district should look like. For those unaware of what’s happening in District 112, here’s a quick synopsis.

Two committees of community volunteers, SCFFAC and 2.0, have studied the district’s financial and facility challenges for six years. I served on SCFFAC. Be sure to check out the detailed “State of the District” update the 2.0 committee recently mailed a to residents. That committee was formed after the community rejected a referendum that included some school closures and a new, single middle school campus last year. Many people liked the referendum, but most didn’t. Democracy worked and we all moved on to find another solution.

Well, not everyone moved on. Some of them use a clever name or acronym, like “Concerned Residents” or C.A.R.E. to imply that they support education. But don’t be fooled! They care only about not closing their favorite schools. Many people who studied the issue agree this is fiscally irresponsible. The Negative Nellies use Facebook, Twitter and opinion letters to spread “alternative facts” to scare voters into not supporting the hard working candidates who donate their time to resolve the district’s challenges. They don’t roll up their sleeves to work cooperatively on a new plan. Sound familiar? Sad.

One guy even said in a recently published Letter to the Editor that Baby Boomers should get out of the way of C.A.R.E. endorsed candidates, “I will be asking my baby boomer brethren to turn over their keys and let the next generation tackle the current school situation.” I guess he doesn’t think mature adults are capable of making good decisions. I’m standing up to the bullies and trolls because Highland Park and Highwood shouldn’t be dragged down by nasty, divisive tricks and rhetoric. Our community and our children deserve better. Please take a stand with me by voting for Bennett Lasko, the candidate who has the professional experience, collaborative leadership skills and temperament required to bring this community together around a solution that looks to the future instead of the past.

Leslie Alter