To the lady who doesn't think that good kids have any positive influence in the public schools, may I share with you the response of my daughter who graduated from a Fort Smith public high school just two years ago?
    "What good was my influence? It was not extremely effective by itself, but with that of other good, moral people, it went a long way. Because there were so many of us, we had our own little group inside of the school. There wasn't ever any pressure to do something like drugs or cheat on tests. I do feel that some of that group would have chosen these bad activities had there not been another place they felt welcome. We taught people that it was cool to follow the rules and stay clean."
    We will create a tragic situation if we remove all Christian kids and the influence of their parents from the public schools. This has occurred in several U.S. communities with horrific results.
    Our responsibility as parents is to raise kids who can eventually make good decisions independent of our supervision. If parents did a better job of supervising their children while they are still at home, we would create better schools and eventually enjoy better communities. The public schools aren't the problem. Poor parenting is the problem.

Michael S. Cole, M.D.
15 April 1999
Southwest Times Record