School board did its job

We find it disconcerting that some of the same people who called the public inquiry into the actions of Marsh Junior High School Principal Jeff Sloan a “witch-hunt” are now threatening to launch a recall effort against the four CUSD trustees who voted to reassign Sloan (see Newslines, page 10). There is even a call to boycott the business owned by one of the trustees.

The five trustees were asked to do a job that put them in the middle of a festering controversy that had torn the community apart, creating an “either you’re with us or you’re against us” mentality. In this case you either supported Sloan or you sided with the man who was seen by many as his nemesis, school district Superintendent Scott Brown. There was no middle ground.

Many of the Marsh students and their parents love Sloan, citing his dedication to the top-notch school he’s crafted through an admirable hands-on effort combined, apparently, with a certain amount of financial deception. On the other hand, those who’ve had less than pleasant encounters with the man—and there are many—detest him, calling him arrogant and reckless.

So the trustees made their decisions, a responsibility they did not take lightly. We are confident that these five men wrestled with the evidence, the public emotions and their personal biases and voted as they thought best for the community as a whole. In the end, that is all we can ask any public servant to do. Threats of recall and boycott are knee-jerk reactions and dead wrong. Let’s move on.