Tolerance, Diversity in Newport-Mesa Schools

As many community members in Costa Mesa and Newport Beach know, I was recently reelected to the Newport-Mesa school board. I want the community at large to know how many community members came forth--not so much to support me as an individual as to uphold the public schools’ and our nation’s heritage of tolerance and diversity.

In the final days of the campaign, parents and non-parent community members spoke out on behalf of providing our children with a breadth of information about the world in which they live. They want our young people able to deal with the diversity of ethnicity, of religion, and of perspective--which enriches our society. These people spoke up. They took a stand.

At the same time there are some people who feel so strongly that their specific views on an issue are the only right ones, they cannot embrace the consensus forged by the majority.

While I do not acknowledge these individuals’ right to impose their views on others, I do respect their right to feel as they do and urge all of us to move forward from here. We must focus on the fact that almost every person’s actions have come from a deep personal belief about what is best for children. Though neighbors and people who were previously friends may now have to agree to disagree on specific issues, my hope is that everyone will do what he or she can to reforge friendships, and to reheal neighborhoods.

SHERRY LOOFBOURROW

Corona del Mar