To Mr. Davis and members of the Hillsboro Board of Education:

I was shocked when I read The Times-Gazette article about a recent FFA outing and learned that the teacher in charge deliberately flipped a student’s canoe. What could have gone wrong in this instance?

Mr. Davis and members of the board, were you concerned about student safety when you read the article? What board policies were violated in this situation? Was Mr. Cummings reprimanded in this situation? Did he call you to let you know a dumb decision had been made, but students were unhurt?

This incident sounds similar to Mr. White’s choir trip to New York for which he was fired.

Do I think Mr. Cummings should be fired? No. Did he make a dumb decision? Yes.

I’m sure students were wearing life vests, a requirement of the canoe livery. But were they wearing helmets? Head injuries from underwater rocks or bumping one’s head against the canoe are among the possibilities.

I am in favor of school canoe outings and choir trips to NYC. I think these types of activities are a valuable part of a student’s education.

Please be fair in administering policies of the school district and ODE. Your decision regarding the firing of Mr. White appears to be based more on emotion than reason.

Roger Smith

Hillsboro