This is utterly unbelievable. I received this message from my kid's school district on Friday evening before Labor Day:
WESTBOROUGH PUBLIC SCHOOLS
Message sent - 9/4/2009
President Obama's Speech
School principals have been contacted by some parents who have expressed their concerns about President Obama’s national scheduled address to students on Tuesday, September 8th. The Westborough Public Schools will be taping the President’s message for possible future viewing. The summary released by the US Department of Education states that the special address will be about persisting and succeeding in school. School principals and teachers will view the video and decide the educational appropriateness of the message for different schools, subjects, and classrooms. Principals may very well decide not to show the video and leave the decision of watching it up to individual parents/families. Please know that if any parent objects to the video being viewed by their child, please contact the building principal.
Some parents have said that they would prefer to watch the address at home with their children. Therefore, we have made special arrangements with Westborough's Local Cable Access Station to broadcast the President's Back-to-School message on Tuesday evening, September 8th on Charter's Channel 13 and Verizon's Channel 26 at 6PM, 7PM, and 8PM.
I sent the following message back to them:
This is the most utterly outrageous thing I have ever read in my life. THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES is speaking to the students of America, and a small group of racist, right-wing nuts express "concern", so the school district is going to cave in to their ridiculous demands????
The fact that you consider their demands to have even one iota of merit is shameful. I will be sharing this email with the media, and I will be doing everything I can to have anyone who was involved in this utterly un-American decision removed from their position of authority over the education of the children of Westborough.
I am appalled.
In Massachusetts!!!!!!
In America!!!!!!