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North Clackamas teachers urge board to reduce workload, call for more district support

North Clackamas School District Board of Directors · January 16, 2026
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Summary

At the Jan. 15 North Clackamas School District board meeting, teachers honored as the district's featured educator described widespread exhaustion and urged administrative changes: more district substitutes, fewer nonessential meetings and reduced data/coaching burdens to preserve classroom instruction.

At the Jan. 15 board meeting, teacher Kim Christner of Kennedy Elementary introduced Sheila Sanger as the district's featured educator and used the time to frame a broader concern from elementary teachers about workloads and capacity. "We have traded the heartbeat of a classroom for a checklist that never ends," Christner said, urging leadership to "pick a lane."

Sanger, accepting the recognition, then spoke on behalf of elementary teachers who say they are "tired" and feel unheard by district administration. One teacher summarized the principal complaints: insufficient substitutes that force teachers to lose prep time, staff shortages that leave classrooms of "over 30 students with complex behavioral and emotional and academic needs," and excessive noninstructional duties such as meetings and data forms. "Real support would have district-level staff assigned to sub in classrooms" and "canceling these nonessential staff meetings," the teacher said, asking the board to hold the administration accountable.

Speakers pointed the board to a compilation of teacher concerns at tinyurl.com/backslashnncsdteachers and framed the problem as one of resources and capacity rather than individual performance. Christner emphasized the need for concrete district actions: "We need leadership to pick a lane."

Board members acknowledged the testimony and thanked teachers for the presentation; no immediate policy action was taken that night. The board's public agenda item was recognition of a featured educator and the time the teachers used to present concerns; the record shows discussion but no motion or formal directive arising from the remarks.