Dear Editor,

The fact that superintendent Cheryle Beaumont's departure is going to cost us anything can be laid at the feet of the past school board majority, which voted to prematurely extend her contract by three years.

If they had just left her contract alone, it would have expired this summer and Beaumont would have been out the door at no cost.

In my opinion, the contract extension was a ploy by the old board majority (of which only Trustees Alison McVeigh and Rod Ross are now left) to try to manipulate the new board majority into keeping Beaumont, rather than letting them decide for themselves who they wanted to work with.

The "old gang" wanted to make it tough for the new board majority to get rid of Beaumont, thinking that they would be afraid of generating negative public opinion.

I believe most of the community will be congratulating Trustees Wendy Johnson, Rob McFarlane, Cecelia Reekie, Candy Ashdown, and Megan Dykeman - obviously McVeigh and Ross cannot be included in this list - for their courage and principles.

Parents in my school are now happily excited about the possibilities of the district's future. We are looking forward to respectful communication with the board (majority) and acting superintendent Suzanne Hoffman.

L. Fletcher, Langley