Trustee With Home School Is Urged to Resign

The president of the Orange Unified School District’s teachers union called on Trustee Max Reissmueller to “do the honorable thing” and resign after he pulled his daughter out of public school and began a home-schooling program.

“School boards should be made up of persons who have a strong commitment to public schools and are good role models for the employees of the district,” said union President David Reger at Thursday night’s school board meeting.

“Max Reissmueller, through his lack of attendance in a public school, his current action to privatize our district and in removing his daughter from the public schools and starting a private school, has shown he does not believe in public schools,” Reger said.

Reissmueller, 26, defended his decision to pull his 6-year-old daughter out of the district and teach her at home.

“I take a lot of criticism for standing up for what I believe in,” he said.

Home-schooling was a concept he had long considered, and the emphasis his daughter’s school placed on Halloween helped him make the decision, he said. Reissmueller objected to the school’s observation of the holiday for religious reasons.

He added that his actions should not reflect on his daughter’s former school. “I think Chapman Hills (Elementary School) is a wonderful school and Kathy Kessler is an excellent principal,” he said. “I really do see the whole thing as a personal matter.”