I am the son of a school principal turned US Navy Captain, and both of my mothers were English teachers. I attended schools all over the country, both small and large. I know what great education looks like and the results thereof. I am highly qualified technically in all phases of computing and electronic communications with 54 years of experience.

I attended the last school board meeting where most of the audience were either current teachers or retired teachers with a couple of sharp students.

The Alpena Public Schools system is not delivering quality education, and that is why the community has elected these board members to make changes and improve performance at all levels.

For those of us in the older crowd, remember back when there were no phones in school, there were no issues talked about regarding the mental health of children, we fed our children well, and the emphasis was on academic excellence and not about how the students are feeling socially and emotionally. The Ten Commandments were on the wall. We taught civics in school. We taught history rather than social studies.

The speakers were well organized, and they had their turns assigned to speak for effect. They complained that the board was focusing on things that were not important. Many talked about 1984 when the school system ran out of money and were trying to instill fear in the board. They are deathly afraid we will lose federal funding.

Not once were the teachers concerned about the miserable scores of how students can read or do math at grade level.

For our children’s sake we should stop calling for recalls of board members and focus on where it should be. Quality education now.

BRUCE HEATH,

Ossineke