Earlier this month, despite an overwhelming response from families in support of keeping it open, the Maine Charter School Commission decided to shut Harpswell Coastal Academy down.

Come to find out two of three members voting to shut it down were former legislators — Victoria Kornfield and James Handy, the latter from Lewiston — who were appointed by Gov. Janet Mills, and who both sponsored legislation during their tenures meant to limit the number of charter schools or stifle their efforts to grow.

It’s obvious that politics and agendas are what drove this decision, not wanting to do what’s best for these students.

Despite the school having successfully maintained its academic standards and accreditation, these two members used standardized test scores and attendance rates as their excuse. But what these metrics don’t tell people is HCA attracts and serves a lot of students that were already struggling academically and in some cases are dealing with emotional and mental health issues which affect these figures.

What really sickens me is these members who are intent on limiting the number of charter schools in Maine use these metrics, which represent struggles that real families are dealing with, as an excuse do to something that will make lives harder.

Matthew Mower, Brunswick