Embarrassed by behavior

To the Editor: This is an apology to Dr. Morton, David Slavin, Mimi Sharpe and Armen Koochagian. I am sorry for the way you were treated by the audience and Paul Johnson at the last board of education meeting. I attended the meeting on Monday, April 10, and was embarrassed by the behavior of Paul Johnson and some members of the audience. Between the accusations and the name calling, it appeared to be a political maneuver by Johnson and some of the attendees a week before the election. It is understandable for people to have disagreements, but resorting to calling select members of the board “dummies” or “jerks” is uncalled for and shows a lack of respect for everything decent. When such tactics are used, it is obvious that you lack a true argument and are attempting to distract the audience. Whether you like them or not, they are still volunteers and put many hours into doing something many of you in attendance have never been willing to do. So before you try to belittle and attack Mimi Sharpe and Armen Koochagian, step up to the plate and put yourselves and your family out there. Koochagian has given many years of service to the board of education and the children of Sparta, and I don’t know of a more honorable person on the board. Sharpe has children in town and you should keep that in mind before you start your petty name calling. Paul Johnson is someone I used to respect for being on the board of education. His behavior is inexcusable and he should be ashamed of himself. He says publicly that he is for the students, but his actions show otherwise. He appears to have an axe to grind and doesn’t care how he behaves to prove a point. Dorothy LaBeau Sparta