With less than two months before the East Williston school community is asked to vote on the budget and a school board candidate, the dirty politics have begun.

Some of my neighbors chose to exercise their democratic right of freedom of speech to support a candidate for school trustee by placing signs in front of their homes to show this support. Within a very short time, the homes and properties of these individuals were violated by trespassing vandals who removed the signs. This community has seen so much division in the last few years, and after a year of effort by our community to unite, a few bad apples have again shown their ugly side and threaten to create even more dissention and division. This can only hurt our children and our community.

Now is the time for all residents to allow others to express their views in a positive way. Whatever candidate we may support or whatever side of an issue we may be on, let us all encourage one another to be respectful, honest and "agree to disagree" in a dignified manner. Let us focus on the positive aspects of our position and not resort to tactics of the past such as removal of signs/literature, spreading of false information, name calling and most of all, intimidation of others to support one's own positions.

I ask the school administration and the board of education to denounce this negative behavior and set the proper example for the community and our students. And we, as community members, should also lead by righteous example and disregard the negative message of those who chose to jeopardize community unity. This is America where we value our liberty and freedom. Let us all work toward ensuring that these rights are protected for all.

Eleanor Zatlin