LONDON (December 11, 1991) - Quoted in the London Free Press as saying that there were "more untruths told during this campaign than in any other election I've been in," Cheryl Miller, re-elected chairperson of the London Board of Education, accused candidates endorsed by the London-Middlesex Taxpayers' Coalition (LMTC) of damaging the "reputation" of the board as a consequence of such "untruths."
Among the candidates endorsed by the LMTC was Fp leader and president, Robert Metz, and other Fp constituency presidents, members, and former party candidates including: Jack Plant, Paul Blair, Patti Plant, Steve Ronson, Robert Vaughan, and Dave Fortner,
Stunned by the accusation, Fp president Robert Metz contacted Miller on December 11 to get specifics about the nature and source of the "untruths" in question. According to Miller, it was suggested that Jack Plant, in citing a survey conducted by a school association which revealed that 52% of grade 7 and 8 parents were dissatisfied with their children's education, "left the impression" that "all" parents were so dissatisfied.
In citing another "untruth," Miller denied a claim by LMTC executive Craig Stevens that education tax dollars were being spent on "health club memberships," though the LMTC still maintains that such subsidization exists - categorized under different budgets - and thus the issue is still debatable.
Beyond these two observations, Miller offered Metz no other specific grounds for the alleged "untruths." At the very least, if only two such incidents represented "more untruths... than in any other election I've been in," then certainly this is evidence that previous elections were virtually uncontested in terms of issues.
Miller's comments reflect an orchestrated attempt on the part of school board trustees and administrators to shift the blame for the shortcomings of the public education system onto those who would have the temerity to point them out. More importantly, her comments reveal that for the first time in recent memory, the board is running scared.
In fact, despite opposing LMTC candidates on issues of setting education standards, holding the line on taxes, and controlling the amount of money spent on teachers' salaries, re-elected trustees were quick to jump on the LMTC issue bandwagon (at least in their publicly-issued statements, if not in actual fact), suddenly endorsing national testing in schools, holding the line on teachers' salaries, and suggesting other spending restraints. "That's my first priority - the word will be restraint," Miller was quoted as saying in the December 4, 1991 London Free Press.
Unlike most elections where the defeated candidates tend to disappear between elections, neither Freedom Party nor the LMTC have or will let up on their ongoing education campaigns.
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last updated on April 28, 2002
