I attended Representative John Reilly’s monthly meeting last week at the Orion Twp. Library. What I heard dropped my jaw to the floor.

When asked directly if he’d like to see charter schools in Lake Orion, he replied, with no hesitation, “Yes”. While his voting record proves that he does not generally support our public schools, I was still surprised to learn that he would want charter schools here.

As is true for many, we chose to raise a family in Lake Orion specifically for the excellent education available here. So, Mr. Reilly, shame on you for advancing: policies that diminish the role of educators in local control of our schools (House Bill 5213), policies that send public dollars to private entities (House Bill 574), and policies that restrict our public schools from exercising local control over our taxpayer funded investments (Senate Bill 249).

Mr. Reilly’s constituents support our public schools. If his representation does not reflect that support, who is he representing?

Jennifer Smith

Lake Orion resident