Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Community Concerns topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Parents, students and teachers urge board to reverse transfers and save speech program after coach resigns
Summary
Public commenters accused the district of mishandling involuntary transfers that they say undermined morale and led to the resignation of speech coach Ashley Pearson; students and parents urged the board to find a replacement coach and reconsider transfers to preserve programs.
Multiple public commenters used the meeting's public-input period to press the board on recent involuntary transfers and staff resignations, saying the moves damaged morale and put programs at risk.
Parent Zoe Radler Esarath told the board she had submitted a letter in early July raising concerns about the district's treatment of teachers during contract negotiations and involuntary transfers. She said "Ashley Pearson resigned from her position as high school English teacher and speech and debate coach" days after her letter and urged the board to reconsider the transfers. "The involuntary transfers have still not been adequately addressed or convincingly justified which makes it hard to wonder if they are indeed targeted retaliation," she said.
Recent graduate and former speech captain Maya Tullis said the speech and debate team now lacks a coach and described the work required to sustain the program, including travel, grant applications and heavy after-school time. Tullis said an administrator told students, according to a colleague, that "There are others who could fill her shoes in a heartbeat," a claim Tullis called false given the program's demands. "Please do everything to find a coach," she said.
A middle-school teacher who spoke during public comment described several recent eliminations of positions at the middle school and said one teacher's assignment was increased by roughly 50 percent; the teacher urged alternatives such as restructuring the secondary schedule, returning staff on special assignment to classroom duties and exploring hybrid or homeschool-support programs to increase enrollment and revenue.
A community member read a letter urging that, if cuts are necessary, the board look to administrative spending before cutting student-facing programs such as band, choir, speech and debate, and suggested fundraising and partnerships as alternatives.
Board members listened and acknowledged the comments; no formal board vote on transfers or program closures occurred at the meeting. Several speakers asked the board to act quickly to recruit a speech coach and to re-examine involuntary transfers before the school year begins.
