To the editor:

I have been reading the letters to the editor in the last few weeks and was amazed at some of the misinformation.

Someone said that the teacher unions demanded that schools be closed; did you know that per the Kaiser Family Foundation that roughly 1/4 of teachers faced a higher risked of serious illness from Covid? They didn't want to bring it home to their families that could possibly have killed them? Now, about the on-line studies; did you actually see what was being taught? I did, and it was the exact thing my great-grandchild was being taught prior to the pandemic closings. Did you know after the Hastings schools opened up again, that they offered additional assistance to help students catch up? You could have found that out if you would have read their newsletter online.

Children have the right to an excellent education and I have a third generation in my family going through the school system. So that they do get that, I don't want to see book banning, white washed history or people being looked down on or bullied because they may be part of the LBGTQ community. Book banning and white washing history to not mention racism or any sort, is the mantra of extremist groups like Minnesota Parents' Alliance and Moms for Liberty.

Parents, if you don't like what your child is reading, first, read it yourself and then if you still don't like the book, contact the school and teacher. It is your right to do so, it is not your right to tell other parents what or what not their children can read.

Candidates, as for endorsements, if you are endorsed by a group such as the two mentioned above, and don't believe in what they stand for, say so. If you don't then, you must be aligned with them. That can help voters decide who they want to vote for too. If you use any numbers, as one of the candidates had on her website to show the poor performance of students, give the source of those numbers. Prior to retirement, I was a Financial Compliance Analyst and we always looked for the sources to be listed so we knew if they were true numbers and someone could research if they wanted to. If their was not sources listed, it wasn't allowed to be used. What I find interesting is that in reading our hometown paper, many of our students are on the Dean's list at their schools so the educations they received at Hastings must have been excellent.

If teacher don't go along with 200Strong, that is okay however, I have seen the signs of those being endorsed on teachers' lawns and well as workers for the school district.

Read, research, find out as much as you can about each candidate. We owe it to our students.

Deb Miller