To the editor:
Representative Jason Woodford, Republican from Michigan District 50, recently proposed House Bill No. 4588. Passed in the House on party lines, with Woodford’s fellow Republicans all voting in favor, the bill now goes to the Michigan Senate. If passed into law, all candidates for local Michigan school boards would have to declare party affiliation and participate in partisan primaries. This is a bad idea. School boards have traditionally been nonpartisan and should remain so. In small towns in rural areas, people already knows where individuals stand on issues, and in larger towns and in cities, candidates can be questioned on issues prior to Election Day. Schoolchildren should not be used as pawns in political battles.
When I shared this legislative news with my sister, a public school teacher for more than 40 years, she labeled it “preposterous.” Another friend with public school experience immediately predicted, “This will only divide us further.”
