Johnson should step down

To the Editor: In response to Elaine Furfero’s letter of March 30: The Sparta Board of Education is in no way “blackmailing” the public by adding the fields question to the September referendum. The reason they abandoned the idea of a new high school is because they thought it was too expensive for the public to bear. They are trying their utmost to keep costs down. That is why they offer the field improvement as a second question. They do not want the first question to be voted down because voters think the price is too high. As much as we need a new field, the renovation of the school is more pressing. Completely lacking in board member Paul Johnson’s approach is a sense of urgency when it comes to planning for the future of our kids. Our district has lost precious time because of his disruptive behavior. An example of his consistent lack of consensus building took place when half the school board sued the other half during his tenure as president a few years back. With all his complaints about fellow board members and administrators, I have to ask why he is running again for the board on April 18. It is time for him to recognize that he has not been an effective or cooperative member and should step down. At the end of the April board meeting, after the sports boosters had booed him for voting no on the field question, he was overheard uttering negative remarks about said parents, ending with, “Let them vote me out of office.” We intend to. Game on. Daryl Savage Sparta