We are living in a world where an individual's right to privacy is under constant attack from all institutions both public and private.

A case in point is the recent edict from the superintendent of the Whiteside School District requiring parents who wish to act as chaperones and accompany their child on school-sponsored field trips to provide a criminal background check from the Circuit Clerk of St. Clair County. This background check, which will cost the parents $12, is then to be provided to the administration for their review and approval.

It's one thing to require a background check for employees, but when was it decided that parents need to provide criminal background checks before they can participate in school sponsored field trips?

The parents of the district should be outraged by such a ridiculous and unwarranted intrusion of their right to privacy. Did the board members approve this action? If they did, they should be ashamed of themselves. Every Whiteside parent should contact board members and let them know what they think of this frivolous proposal.

The district administration has no business getting this deep into the personal lives of the parents of district students. If not illegal it surely is discriminatory.

Louis J. Netemeyer

Belleville