By Victor Skinner
EAGnews.org

CHESTERFIELD, Va. – The concept of keeping politics out of public schools seems to be lost on Michelle Obama.

School officials in Chesterfield County, Virginia yesterday denied a request for the First Lady stop at a local elementary school as her campaign moves through the state.

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“It was confirmed that (Mrs. Obama) did in fact ask to come to a Chesterfield school,” Dale district supervisor Jim Holland told the Richmond Times-Dispatch. “I don’t know the extent of what their request was, whether it was a political request or whether it was an educational request.”

“If it was officials, that would be appropriate,” he said. “If it was political, that would inappropriate.”

The fact that school officials turned down the request points to the logical conclusion that the visit would have been political in nature. School officials declined to comment on the situation because they “felt that making their denial public would potentially embarrass the Obama campaign,” according to the Times-Dispatch.

Chesterfield schools community relations director Tim Bullis cited the school board’s policy about political campaigns when contacted by the newspaper.

“If a political campaign were to inquire about the use of a school facility during the school day, the campaign would be referred to a School Board policy 6100, which prohibits the use of school facilities during the school day for political purposes,” Bullis wrote in an email to the Times-Dispatch.

Obama campaign officials issued a statement claiming “The school was only one of several options being considered in the greater Richmond area, and CenterStage Theater was ultimately determined to be the best fit for this event.”

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But we have to wonder, why does the Obama campaign think a political rally at a publicly funded elementary school is an option to begin with? Whether the politician is the First Lady, the President himself, or a local school board candidate, they should never be allowed to use public resources and a captive audience of public school children to push their political agenda.

A balanced debate with representatives from all political persuasions is one thing, but a political campaign rally on the public’s dime is quite another.

We’re disappointed that the Obama campaign apparently doesn’t know the difference.