Threats at school board meetings unacceptable

I believe Rick Johnson’s recent letter in which he criticized the National School Boards Association’s appeal to the White House embodies a stunningly false, albeit successful narrative.

The letter to the White

House stated that violent attacks on public school officials was akin to domestic terrorism. Attorney General Merrick Garland wrote a memo in response, similarly focusing on violence. In a functioning democracy, where both parties were committed to peaceful resolution of differences, this would not be a story. Who could want violent school board meetings?

Congressional Republicans, however, and their allied media, seeing a possible win in the contrived cultural war about parental empowerment, accused Garland of treating parents like terrorists. Garland’s response had not mentioned parents or terrorists.

The school association was responding to violence and arrests at school board meetings, as well as death threats against board members, usually over mask mandates. Our state experienced so many threats and violent acts that the state school boards association wrote to

Gov. Gavin Newsom asking for help.

Eleven state school board associations, fearful of Republican officeholders and a loss of funding, disassociated themselves from the national organization, including Florida, where the governor has dedicated himself to preventing school boards from enacting health measures to protect students.

The current attacks and threats at school board meetings is unacceptable. It is not normal that school board members are resigning out of fear for their and their families’ safety.

This is happening all over the country. As a new grandparent, Johnson should welcome the fact that the government is prepared to act against death threats, violence and intimidation at school board meetings. It is how democracy should work.

— Ruth Dell, Tiburon