To the Editor:

It is most unfortunate that the Representative Levesque chose to personally attack my husband in her recent letter to the editor. Moreover, it is extremely troubling that she would think it is proper to outrageously assert that my husband, a newly elected co-op school board member, seeks “to disrupt and dismantle public education.”

This is highly irresponsible of Representative Levesque. Her slanderous claims are made with reference to a petition warrant article that Representative Levesque did not personally support. Unfortunately for Representative Levesque, she has chosen to publicly attack my husband without a solid comprehension of the facts at hand.

First, the idea for the petition warrant article that Representative Levesque references was not my husband’s. It was mine! Second, Representative Levesque conveniently disregards the dozens of citizens from both Brookline and Hollis who also signed the petition when she chose to single out my husband. Third, due to the fact Colonel Pauer had been recently activated by the military to serve his country, he was unable to attend the third night of the annual District Meeting. In his absence, Debbie Pucci, a fellow petitioner, delivered the warrant article presentation. Fourth, Representative Levesque forgets that numerous voters spoke in favor of the warrant article that evening.

Lastly, she conveniently ignores the hundreds of people who voted in support of the article “to reject the Common Core state standards (CCSS) and the implementation of CCSS in favor of adopting higher academic standards for the Hollis-Brookline Co-op School District” when she states that “the article has no force of law” and that it is a “veiled attempt to disrupt and dismantle public education.”

I would suggest that Representative Levesque take the time to learn more about the facts regarding CCSS. Additionally, I would encourage her to take the time to have a conversation with my husband in order to learn more about his perspective on public education as he begins his term representing Brookline on the Hollis-Brookline Co-op School Board. To my knowledge, Representative Levesque has never had an honest dialogue with my husband about anything, never mind public education.

We all make better decisions as a community when an objective evaluation of the facts is fully considered, and we put partisan politics aside. The Honorable Melanie Levesque should know better.

DIANE PAUER

Brookline