I sincerely hope the South Portland school officials did not negotiate a lower sentence as a result of the sit-in. A more appropriate protest should have been done at the next School Board meeting, negotiating with minors during school hours is akin to a police officer negotiating with a speeder in the middle of a busy intersection. It may be the right fight but definitely the wrong stage.

The concern about potential litigation is a valid one and usually it happens when parents refuse to believe their minor child could possibly be to blame and view the school system as the “establishment.” Frankly, I would have been too embarrassed to promote a sit-in as the parent in light of what my minor child had done. Not what I’d like on the front page of a paper.

Linda Gordius

former member of the Scarborough School Board