(Editor’s Note: A longer version of this letter was originally sent to Mayor Linda Kavanagh.)

1. Place your support behind your duly-elected brethren currently seated on the School Board. They performed their executive duties with due diligence. Courageously ignoring the fact that special interest and partisan factions tried to sway their votes, most followed ASBA directive and based their votes regarding the employment of [Appellant] solely on the report created by the hearing officer.

As both the district and the appellant were afforded due process in a mutually-agreed upon forum, it seems a matter of professional courtesy to extend your endorsement for their actions. I respectfully remind you that they were privy to confidential content not available to you, me or other citizens.

A board decision really shouldn’t be personal or partisan, and we must trust our elected officials. Those who object to the ruling may exercise their ultimate opinion in the next board election.

2. Because the appellant opted to speak to the media and did not consider the consequences, her inference that she was blameless in a racist-ridden school district in (also inferred) a racist ridden town was fanned into a firestorm of vitriolic child bashing and Fountain Hills throttling by media outlets across the country even though several civil remedies were at her disposal, I felt a compelling need to defend my students, my School District and my town, and I will continue to do so in the media and/or in person. Will you join me?

We most likely won’t clean up all the stains on our collective reputations, but your voice would carry a great distance to quell the fray. A troubling and sad situation for a small group has turned into an incendiary media firestorm and the victims of this event are multiplying every day we fail to act.

I would hope that you, mayor, will see fit to help find a way to bring the madness to a screeching halt and begin cleaning up the mess.