Dump the DOE

MISSOULA - Montana, did you read yesterday’s news that Hellgate High School in Missoula released confidential student information? If you are not angry, appalled, ticked off at the very least you need to have your head examined.

It was front page in The Daily Interlake and I would guess it made many other papers around Montana. The info leaked was unintentional, according to the school, and included personal and medical data of more than 100 students. It was received by e-mail by about 30 parents and included a 19-page attachment with psychiatric, medical, attendance and other info about more than 100 students. The e-mail included the names of students using a school based mental health program, criminal records, vaccine records, those with excessive absences, or tardiness, or who are failing classes and also who have been involved in family abuse and a student who is in process of a gender transition.

The school deeply apologizes for any inconvenience and asks those in receipt of the e-mail to delete it without reading it. Isn’t that special.

Parents and all Montana need to be seriously questioning our system but first parents need to get their students out of the public school system. And then we had better get control of our education system.

One way is to stop paying into this intrusion of our privacy. This is not education; it is tyranny; it is another step into taking away our freedoms and God given rights and we must stop it now or forever be slaves to the state. What else could they be keeping records on about our kids? This info will be used throughout the lives of our kids to control their every activity. Their second amendment rights will be controlled; their ability to get proper healthcare will be decided based on their history from childhood just to mention two things.

Just how much do we spend on all of this administration to keep these records? We need to stop taking federal funds, get out from under the thumb of the tyrants and get back to the 3 R’s. This control is mandated or we will lose our federal education funding.

We don’t need federal dollars. We can do a better job if left alone. Dump the DOE and as a benefit that will mean we pay less federal taxes.

John O'Neil - Kalispell, Mont.