After reading the many letters to the editor regarding changes to the Albert Lea school system, one would conclude the following:

The board and superintendent never listened to anyone in the community. They didn’t have the best interest of the students in mind; the board and superintendent are autocratic and carelessly ran roughshod over the students, parents and teachers. And apparently the superintendent succumbed to the dictates of his military background.

Do you really think the people sitting on the board hold a cold-hearted disregard for education in Albert Lea? Do you really think the superintendent who has devoted his life to education is out to destroy it?

Some, not all, in the community have chosen to make the school board (comprising real and caring human beings) and the superintendent (a person of integrity) the lightning rod for all things wrong with the level of funding for our schools and for all disappointments that come with funding adjustments.

And why do you suppose two of the newest school board members ran unopposed in the last election? Knowing the many difficult decisions facing all school boards, involving so many interests — students, parents, teachers and the greater community — it’s no wonder people pondering service on a school board are not clamoring to walk the plank of community scorn.

Step up, pitch in and support the board and superintendent in this new venture. Let’s rally around our teachers, students and administrators as this reconfiguration unfolds. Positive energy is what sustains us in taking on new challenges.

Joel B. Erickson

Albert Lea