I was very upset to read in the newspaper this morning about the Hampden school board’s latest coups de main (to, in essence, fire Bill Cattelle and Keith Welch). I feel as though I have been very naive in thinking that the school board’s role is to help our children have the best education possible.

My children are in sixth and fourth grades this year and I am proud to say that they have had an excellent school experience from the very start. However, in the past several months virtually all news concerning the school system has been very frightening to me. It seems that a few of the board members must have their own agenda and it does not appear to be beneficial to the students of Hampden. Evidently, the average citizen has no influence on the minds of these board members. Unfortunately, we will have to wait until terms begin to expire for a positive change — I only hope we haven’t lost the bulk of our outstanding teachers and completely demoralized our children by that time. Debora Lozito Hampden