What Would St. Paul Do?

3/20/2010

Senior Pastor of Victory Baptist Church, Valrico

Dear Reverend: I request that you take an interest in the moral situation involved in the candidacy of Jennifer Falliero for the Hillsborough County School Board.

I believe Ms. Falliero is Valrico's board member and that her immoral behavior while on the board is the responsibility of the churches in her district to review and act on.

I am not Baptist. I belong to the Episcopal Church. But I know Baptist mores because much of my family in Georgia, where I was born, is Baptist. I have often attended my family's Baptist churches when I go home. I know all the songs. I know the doxology. I know that the preacher sooner or later is going to get around to assuring me that I am going to hell.

I know that we have separation of church and state. But when it comes to an immoral woman put in charge of our children's education, including their ethical education, I believe the church has a vital role.

I know the women in the Baptist churches of my home town in Georgia would not put up with Ms. Falliero's indecent behavior and let her continue on the school board without protest. They would converge, discuss, plan, and act.

So will the women in the Valrico Baptist churches if you will let them know about the problem.

Anybody can see the case against Ms. Falliero's moral leadership at my blog leedrurydecesarescasting-roomcouch.blogspot.com.

I write satire. I do in my essay on Falliero. I was a college professor for 28 years and learned the technique from Juvenal, Aristophanes, and Swift.

Don't leave the church's women out of any discussion you have on this issue. They are likely to be more perspicacious and leaderly than the men in a case of this sort of problem.

The men may lack the courage to do something about it, but the women won't. They will be ruthless for the children's sake. They might, for example, suggest that the women's auxiliaries of the church hold a seminar for board candidates and opponents to discuss the moral dimensions of service on the school board. I would drive from Madeira Beach to hear and drag my husband of almost 55 years.

My family lived for twenty years in South Tampa's old section of Beach Park. Our four children went to Grady, Coleman, and Plant. We still have a grandson who goes to Plant in the fall.

My career was as educator. Schools deeply concern me. So I have to do what I can to combat this problem of immorality in the school board tolerated by not only other board members as well as the administration. The board voted Ms. Falliero in as chair despite knowing of her immorality.

This alert to you and your membership is one of the things I do to improve the leadership of the schools.

Ms. Falliero has two opponents in the board race: a druggist from Valrico, I think it is, and a former Hillsborough County school principal. I know nothing about their candidacies except their names and addresses on the Supervisor of Elections Web site. Neither could be as morally corrupt as Ms. Falliero is my view. So I hope one of them wins the seat away from the pernicious influence of Ms. Falliero.

Ms. Falliero, incredibly enough, claims to be a born-again Christian.

With prayerful hopes, I remain

Respectfully,

lee drury de cesare

15316 Gulf boulevard 802

Madeira Beach, Fl 33707