I am writing to thank you for exposing what is sure to become the Watergate of the Fayette County School Board.
I am also writing to call for the following:
1. Mr. Presberg should resign at once as a member of the Fayette County School Board.
His failure to declare his membership in the Freethought organization suggests subterfuge.
The members of the organization, based on online posts on The Citizen website and its Facebook page, are quite confident that their philosophy is not only admirable, but also preferable for all.
That’s fine with me, but since that worldview is held by such a scant percent of the citizens of both the United States and Fayette County, one would have hoped that Mr. Presberg would have declared himself.
The worldview of those in charge of the education of our children is very much our business.
2. Ms. Smola and Ms. Smith should immediately resign as well for these reasons:
a. They appointed Mr. Presberg either without doing due diligence on him or, more ominously, perhaps they had prior consultations and agreements in place.
b. They elected Mr. Presberg as chairman of the board. Freethinking aside, the man is new to the community and new to education in our community.
Chairman? Really? That speaks of the consolidation of political power, not the best interests of our children.
c. They settled the lawsuit brought by the NAACP for district voting which now eliminates the right of all citizens to vote for all members of the board. An effective disenfranchisement of the right to vote of the majority.
I don’t believe that this decision represents the will of the Fayette County citizenry.
3. I call for the state legislators to intervene and investigate this abuse of power. Had the school board failed to agree on a candidate back in November, the governor would have been tasked with the responsibility of selecting someone. I believe that power should revert to [the state level] given the facts of the situation.
4. Failing the above, recall petitions should be sought for the three members of the ruling clique.
5. Immediate consultations should begin to identify opposition candidates in districts 1, 2 and 5 for the upcoming 2012 election. Primary qualifying is in May.
James Mark Baldwin
Peachtree City, Ga.
