Editor:

Over the last couple of months, I have been a major topic in your editorial pages. I feel that after the editorial letter written on April 28, 2010 by the “Riviera Patriot,” it is time I respond to the tasteless and hateful attacks that have been written about me.

I was raised in a family that believes in hard work and always being truthful and straightforward. I understand that my personality is one that you either like or you don’t. I have never been a hypocrite or two-faced. I don’t understand how a family can sit on the first pew in the house of God, listen to a priest talk about the Word of God and finding good in people and then write such distorted information.

When I leave Mass, I feel very good about myself and what I am trying to do for the community of Riviera.

You see, I don’t have any hidden agendas and I definitely do not plan on leaving this community until I have “built the best school” possible. It is sad how you have twisted those simple words. It has been explained, many times, to the board and school personnel that those words were made in reference to improving test scores and providing students the best education possible. As a teacher, I always taught my history students that there are always two sides to every story. Every year, I would start my classes by teaching the relevance of Plato’s Image of the Cave from his work called “The Republic”. Plato’s image of the cave is a philosophical parable that, to this day, encourages us to think out of the box, to look beyond what we think we know and to consider possibilities that may even seem absurd. In other words, keep an open mind.

I want you to know that I forgive you of all the untruthful things that you have printed about me. Mother Theresa once said, “If you judge people, you have no time to love them.” I have no time to judge you nor do I want to judge you. Outside of my family, the students at Riviera ISD are the ones that need my time and attention. You should remember that “friends are angels who lift us to our feet when our wings have trouble remembering how to fly.” My family will always be there for you and your family.

If anyone is interested in the whole truth or the “other side” of this story, I invite you to visit with me.

I will close this letter with words found in Matthew 6:34, “Therefore, do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”

May peace be with you and your family.

Respectfully,
Ernest Havner
Superintendent of Schools
Riviera ISD