Dear Editor: At the BOE meeting on Tuesday, May 11 there was a large contingent of parents and faculty from Fairview Theme School who were able to speak before the decision was made to close Clements and keep Fairview open. Why was Fairview informed prior to the meeting that this decision would be brought before the board for a vote? Not one person at Clements, including the administration, knew that closing the school was even an issue under discussion or that it would be brought to a vote on Tuesday night.

 Rather than a frank, open discussion in a public forum, it appears that there was a lot of backroom politics taking place and that a decision had been reached before May 11 without informing or discussing the issues with all the participants. Is this how Newton County Board of Education does business?

 The enrollment numbers for Clements are down because the county is not supporting the school with transportation and the theme school was closed before the CRCT scores for this year were made known. Many parents would consider sending their children to a school that scored 96 percent in ELA, 94 percent in reading and 78 percent in math, but now do not have that option.

Kathy Bonnell

Social Circle