You have unfortunately allowed innuendo and misinformation to permeate your letters to the editor section. This allows the public to gain a perception of a situation that isn’t accurate to gain traction in the community. This does a disservice to your readers and you as a paper.

First: The letter on April 8 from Don Crook takes a lot of effort to equate the dismissal of his wife with the situation with Sean Stern. Don Crook of all people, married to the vice president of the teachers union, should know that his wife was a relatively new hire to the districts. Union-negotiated rules, the same union she was the vice president of, state that teachers are non-renewed based on years within the districts. In short, new teachers are let go first.

Her loss of position had nothing to do with Sean Stern, nothing to do with Amy Huntley, and everything to do with where she lay on the totem pole.

Second: The same letter makes the heavy suggestion that Amy Huntley was the one pushing for Sean Stern’s payout. Again, Don Crook, who is married to the union vice president, should know that the union again is the one who defends and pushes for these payouts. These are basic union protections. Yes, Amy Huntley surely had to sign off on the payout but these are, again, union-negotiated protections enjoyed by all employees under union protection. Amy for her part, recused herself from the situation until it played out.

The opinion piece printed last week by Penny Treat seems to imply that the $90,000 is what the district has spent to defend Amy Huntley legally from something. I’m not even sure why this letter was printed as it seems to get even the most basic facts of the situation wrong.

You are a newspaper, people rely on you to at least present things factually. Printing letters to the editor that seem to get the most basic facts wrong without you printing corrections harms everyone. At worst, it allows people with axes to grind a public forum to muddy water.

STEVEN FRANKLIN

Ocean Park