Wednesday, Sept. 29, 2010
Schaerr profile lacked key information
In The Gazette's Sept. 2 profile of Board of Education candidate Martha Schaerr ["Schaerr calls for schools to engage struggling students"], Schaerr failed to reveal perhaps the most salient feature of her involvement with the Montgomery County Public Schools. Schaerr is a member of the board of directors (and her husband is board chairman) of the Family Leader Network, which brought suit against MCPS in 2007, in an unsuccessful attempt to block implementation of eighth and 10th grade health education revisions titled "Respect for Differences in Human Sexuality."
None of this is mentioned on Schaerr's campaign website. The revisions of the courses (which may only be taken if parents opt into them for their children) were prepared in close consultation with a panel from the Maryland Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics and are based entirely on the teachings of mainstream American medical and mental health professional associations.
These revisions help make our schools safe for all of our children. The State Board of Education, without a single dissenting vote, and then the Montgomery County Circuit Court, rejected Schaerr's Family Leader Network's arguments. This baseless litigation forced MCPS to spend tens of thousands of taxpayer dollars in attorney fees.
David S. Fishback, Olney
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