A letter from a CH voter that we declined to publish

The following letter to the editor was submitted by Cleveland Heights resident Bonnie Dolezal after the October print issue had been printed and distributed. The Heights Observer declined to publish it online. Reaction to this decision has threatened to distract from the important issues the community faces at the end of this busy, local election season. Therefore, we have decided to publish the original letter along with the feedback we provided to Dolezal via e-mail. Further—for those who might say, yes, but the writer revised the letter, and the Heights Observer still didn’t publish it—we’re also including the revised letter, and the e-mail we sent to the writer in response.

School Board 'Hit Piece' Mailer, by Bonnie Dolezal:

There is a Political Action Committee (PAC) who is opposing the Drake-Lynn-Rennert School Board slate. This PAC has gone to new levels of incivility. They have now published a nasty sinister mailer trying to portray these candidates as radicals who want to undermine the public schools. It isn’t even clear if this information about them is true. Regardless, nothing on this mailer has anything to do with their qualifications to be on the CHUH School Board. When I see attacks like this, I wonder what is the true motive of these people? We all know that the Schools are very well funded and we have the highest taxes in the State. Are those on this PAC benefitting financially from the Schools? Do they have other ‘vested’ interest that the public is unaware of?

When researching the Drake-Lynn-Rennert campaign, I found logical solutions to the issues with the current School Board and their never-ending Levies. The Drake-Lynn-Rennert platform advocates for a State Performance Audit, more transparency, balanced forecasts, safety and an improved focus on Special education needs. There is nothing radical in these ideas and no mention of destroying public education. If anything, their solutions would benefit the schools, the students and the entire community. This is change that CHUH deserves and needs!

E-mail sent to Bonnie Dolezal, regarding her letter, School Board ‘Hit Piece’ Mailer:

Hi Bonnie,

We're not going to be able to publish your letter, but thank you for taking the time to submit it.

If you were able to demonstrate that the claims made in the school board mailer were incorrect, that would be news, but otherwise, it's just your musings on the topic. You're raising questions without providing answers, when the answers may well be discoverable. We've all received the mailer, and we all have opinions about it, I'm sure. The PAC's website contains documents supporting the allegations made in the mailer. If you find they are untrue, by all means, please send a new letter letting us know. Or, if you find any PAC member is benefiting financially from the schools, be sure to let us know.

Thank you,

Kim Sergio Inglis
Editor

School Board ‘Hit Piece’ Mailer (revised), by Bonnie Dolezal:

There is a Political Action Committee (PAC) who is opposing the Drake-Lynn-Rennert School Board slate. This PAC has gone to new levels of incivility. They have now published a nasty sinister mailer trying to portray these candidates as radicals who want to undermine the public schools. This PAC is intentionally trying to slander members of our community where ‘All are Welcome’. There isn’t anything on in this mailer in regards to their qualifications to be on the CHUH School Board. When I see attacks like this, I question the true motive of these people. 

We all know that the Schools are very well funded and we have the highest taxes in the State. When researching the Drake-Lynn-Rennert campaign, I found logical solutions to the issues with the current School Board and their never-ending Levies. Their platform advocates for a State Performance Audit, more transparency, balanced forecasts, safety and an improved focus on Special education needs. There is nothing radical in these ideas and no mention of destroying public education. If anything, their solutions would benefit the schools, the students and the entire community. This is change that CHUH deserves and needs!

E-mail sent to Bonnie Dolezal, regarding her revised letter:

Bonnie,

I see your second letter. In it, you repeat much from the original. You haven't made it news, as I suggested—its just your reaction to a mailer that everyone in the Heights has no doubt received, and is drawing their own conclusions about. If I were to publish your reaction, I'd be bound to publish every reaction-letter that is submitted. I'm not able to do so.

Thank you,

Kim

Kim Sergio Inglis

Kim Sergio Inglis is editor-in-chief of the Heights Observer, and is a Cuyahoga County master gardener volunteer.

Read More on Opinion
Volume 14, Issue 11, Posted 4:11 PM, 10.18.2021