By Kristi Levesque, Frazier Park

I applaud the students who participated in Thursday’s protest. These are kids who have known Mr. Saldaña almost all of their lives. My son has been a rider on Chuy’s bus for a number of years. I can say what a great role model he has been to the kids who have grown up knowing him. If my son has always spoken so highly of this man and admired him for his character, I can only imagine that other kids have done the same.

It takes real courage and devotion to be able to stand up to tell an authority figure (in this case the school district) that they were wrong for letting Mr. Saldaña go.

Parents, students and employees, almost everyone, knows who Chuy is. Mr. Saldaña is not only highly thought of in the eyes of our children, but by many parents and residents as well.

The school district should rethink their poor decision by respecting the protest of this injustice and the words of our teenagers. El Tejon Unifed School District should give Mr. Saldaña a very public apology and offer to give his job back.

This is part of the February 04, 2011 online edition of The Mountain Enterprise.

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