What Fred Navarro Should Have Said

Dear Fred Navarro:

Here is the subject at hand….the RATS at Newport Harbor High School!

Please do not try to be clever by half in trying to make it a Union vs. Nmusd. It is NOT a dispute between the union and anyone. Britt Dowdy did not have anything to do with the walkout (or as my clever husband says “Rat Out”). He was told by the Daily Pilot that this event was taking place the next day, and was there simply to support the teachers and students who were protesting the infestation of rats.

Again the subject is RATS!

Britt has been fighting this rat battle for months; not only at Harbor High, but at CDM, and CMHS, with few if any results, and now we have this emergency, and you take the lowest road and bar him from the school for a week. Could this be more ridiculous?

Let me help you out. This is what should have happened:

You should have listened to your teachers and school administrators and solved the problem a long time ago, but failing that, you should have done this Friday morning at 8:00 AM.

You should have actually come to the school and asked to speak to the teachers and students who were protesting and said the following:

I apologize for not taking this problem seriously enough. I have been aware of the rat situation for many months and thought that it could be taken care of by our employees. I knew that getting rid of rats was difficult and in the past few hours, I have learned more than I ever wanted to know about rats. I have not wanted to employ specialists because of money.

I was wrong.

That I have teachers and students experiencing rat droppings, dust, urine and quite possibly having serious health situations is inexcusable. I apologize. I plan to get rid of the rats at this school and every other now.

When I have said that safety for the students and teachers in this district is our first priority; it has not been the truth. As of today, that will be the truth, and getting rid of the rats is the start.

I want to thank you for bringing this so forcefully to my attention, and do not worry for one second about my seeking retribution. It will not happen. You teachers and students will not be punished in any way for leaving your classes.

It was Mahatma Gandhi who said “Silence becomes cowardice when occasion demands speaking out the whole truth and acting accordingly.”

And you have spoken and I have heard. Thank you.

That's what you should have said, Fred, but you didn't and instead you sent this...