To the editor:

I read the article “School Board member hires attorney” and was saddened and disturbed by the School Board’s actions and behaviors (all members).

I want to start out by saying that I have two children that have/are attending Suffolk City Public Schools, and I attended and graduated from a Suffolk Public School (John Yeates, 1976). I have noticed in my 54 years living in Suffolk, that the School Board has acted in a manner that resembles a “club atmosphere.” If you are not part of that club, you do not last very long or you are silenced (much like City Council).

Factions tend to rule what goes on in the city under the guise of consensus. The School Board is an elected body, and everyone on the board is put there by the support and confidence of the citizens of Suffolk. I understand that there are general rules of protocol and laws (FOIA) to uphold in the execution of the Board’s actions and activities, but that does not include “norms and protocols” put in place to silence or stifle other Board Members.

As a citizen of Suffolk, I would ask that the School Board (and City Council) conduct themselves in a manner becoming, ethical, and to the standard of the expectations of citizens of Suffolk that make us proud of our elected officials and our city, and not disturbed or embarrassed. These articles in the newspaper make us ashamed and do not exemplify why you as board members were placed there. I think everyone on the board needs to step back and examine their personal behaviors and decide if your actions are becoming, ethical, that which benefits the students, and is to the standard of the expectations of the citizens of Suffolk.

Michael R. Robinson

Suffolk