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Public commenters urge retention of remote grading days for teachers and ask board to remove 'The Poet X' from curriculum
Summary
At the Jan. 14 Forest Grove SD 15 meeting, a union representative spoke in favor of keeping an option for teachers to work from home on grading days, and a parent asked the board to remove the book The Poet X from freshman curriculum or require stronger parental notice and content warnings.
Speakers during the public-comment period at the Jan. 14 Forest Grove SD 15 meeting included a union representative advocating for an article that allows teachers to work remotely during designated grading time and a parent requesting removal of the book The Poet X from the freshman curriculum unless parents are notified of explicit content.
A union representative reading members’ comments expressed gratitude for Article 6.2.4 (as described in the packet) and said remote grading days provide flexibility, reduce long commutes and increase productivity. “I can better concentrate when I'm working from home, and the time I would spend commuting I can spend working instead,” one speaker said, summarizing comments submitted by union members. The speaker told the board that teachers often complete grading outside paid hours and that allowing staff the option to work from home on grading days recognizes professionalism and supports staff with long commutes.
During public comment, parent Stella Lou identified herself as a family member in the district and said she has seven children who attended district schools. Stella Lou asked that The Poet X — described in her remarks as required reading for freshmen — be removed from the curriculum or, if retained, that parents be notified in advance and that the district include content warnings for material she described as explicit. She read passages aloud from the book to the board as examples and asked the district to act for parents’ awareness.
The board's public-comment protocol, read during the meeting, notes that board members will not respond to public comments during the meeting and that public criticism of individual district personnel is not allowed. The Jan. 14 meeting did not include any immediate action on the curriculum request; the comment was recorded as part of the public-comment record for the board to consider in future curricular discussions.
