Placer Union High School District response to 'Another Voice: Who's indoctrinating whom?'

Although we agree with many points made in the Barbara Smith (June 1, Page A4, "Another View, Who's indoctrinating whom?" there are some inaccurate facts pertinent to Placer Union High School District we feel should be addressed.Placer Union High School District stands united with the statement made by the author, "The purpose of education is to gain knowledge and an appreciation of the world beyond our narrow frame of reference. Receiving an education makes us think and question what we know and seek to learn more. Questioning leads to critical thinking and an empathetic understanding of more nuanced and varied viewpoints."The author presented misinformation in regards to the actions that have taken place in the Placer Union High School District. One such statement was Placer Union High School District "... moved to eliminate access to The Landing Spot, a local support group for LGBTQ+ students'' is not consistent with how our district has handled the situation nor what was communicated to our communities. While we continue to investigate statements made in the Project Veritas video and if there were any implications to our students, our schools and our district's procedures, we have put a "pause" on having The Landing Spot participate in any non-instructional, student-initiated, adult-supervised clubs. Our Placer and Del Oro High School LGBTQ+ students have church staff support right across the street from their campuses.The second incorrect statement was that Placer Union High School District has "taken steps to restrict what students can read and learn either through book bans or by rejecting approved curriculum." This statement is inaccurate; although there has been a lot of public comments, we have not banned or restricted reading and learning material.At a time when our students need us most, and when parents and educators need to work together in support of our students, more energy is being spent on attacking, threatening and harassing school officials/educators. The spreading of misinformation through social media and at school board meetings obscures our community from the reality of what is playing out in our communities - partisan politics!The fact that we have seen state and national partisan politics impacting our schools was characterized correctly by the author. Most concerning is this disharmony's effect on teaching and learning. Children deserve a quality education free of distractions.Let's work together to keep political ideology out of our schools and model dignity and respect for our children. We have many future generations of graduates counting on us to ensure their educational success. Placer Union High School District Superintendent Dr. George Sziraki began his service with the Placer Union High School District in 2013. He can be contacted at gsziraki@puhsd.k12.ca.us.