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CRC Statement to the Montgomery County Public Schools Board of Education, December 14, 2004
Thank you for this opportunity to address you on a matter of significant concern for me and many other parents in Montgomery County.
I represent the many families who have come together to develop a more representative, responsive and moderate curriculum for our public schools. Citizens for a Responsible Curriculum, or CRC, includes a broad and diverse membership of concerned parents and taxpayers from all of Montgomery County.
Briefly, I will explain who we are, what our purpose is and how we hope to partner with the Board of Education to make our public school system even better than its nationally recognized excellence portrays.
First of all, we are not a bunch of angry radicals seeking to do away with sex education. As evidenced by data from the recently released national survey, we are proud of the contributions that Montgomery County and the Board has made to the nation and our community in helping reduce teen pregnancies and improve awareness of sexually transmitted diseases. We applaud all your efforts in making this possible. We want to help build on this legacy cooperatively to make rational and cost effective changes as needed to improve but not degrade a good program already in place.
Secondly, despite the best of intentions, the recommended changes raise serious issues on very controversial topics. These changes discriminate against many of our families and their deeply held cultural and religious beliefs. We want to work with the Board to help correct this.
Also, these social issues are extremely divisive. Thus, we feel that they need additional review and public discourse before any such changes are implemented. We formally ask the Board to put the recommended changes on hold while our group, along with other concerned citizens, parents, teachers, ministers and professional social science experts tackle this problem together. The end result we feel, will be a more moderate and acceptable resolution.
In closing, we feel strongly that any program that has to include an “opt out” or “opt in” condition is not one in which Montgomery County can feel proud. These conditions should be treated as a “red flag” that our job as parents, teachers, and officials in this matter has not been completed and our stewardship of the taxpayers’ resources not fulfilled.
“Separate but equal” is not a term that any resident or professional educator of this County would want to as a label associated with our MCPS.
Thank You.
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