Paul LePage is quoted (“Virginia Gov. Youngkin stumps for LePage,” Sept. 8, Page B1) as saying, “Democrats are trying to put politicians and bureaucrats between parents and their children.”

This fearmongering is part of his platform to give more control over education policy to parents. Yet he has not told us how he would do give them more control.

Does he intend to abolish elected school boards in order to make education decisions in a town meeting at which every parent gets a vote? It’s one thing to adopt a budget or agree to pave a road at a town meeting, but does it make any sense to adopt a curriculum, select textbooks, hire teachers and all the many, many decisions that go into running a school at a town meeting?

Based on my experience as a town meeting moderator, I think this is a terrible idea. An annual town meeting would not be sufficient for making these decisions; many such meetings would be required and chaos would ensure.

Would his parents’ bill of rights give every parent veto power over the curriculum or textbooks? I see gridlock as the likely outcome.

Parents, and all voters, already have a voice in how public schools are run, if they care to exercise it. It is called an elected school board. Don’t like how your school is run? Run for office. It’s called representative democracy. Take a look; it works pretty darn well. Paul LePage’s culture-war scare tactics don’t help.

Robert Howe
Brunswick

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