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Parents urge Richland School Board to restore Jefferson Elementary PE teacher, call for boundary review
Summary
Multiple Jefferson parents told the Richland School Board that removing a full-time PE teacher from the districthighest-poverty elementary undermines equity and contradicts levy promises; they urged boundary changes, additional training for ALE staff and stronger oversight of implementation decisions.
Several parents and community members told the Richland School Board at its regular meeting that the districts plan to reassign Jefferson Elementarys PE teacher will harm students at the school with the districts highest poverty rate.
Parents said the district has not provided an adequate substitute plan for physical education or for specialist-covered planning time, and several asked the board to reconsider district boundaries as a way to rebalance enrollment and staffing.
"Removing our trained PE teacher means our students will no longer receive the quality physical education instruction they deserve," Heather Hadler said during the public-comment period, arguing that many Jefferson families lack access to extracurricular sports outside school and that PE supports studentsphysical and cognitive development.
Peggy Pilger told the board voters approved the district levy with the expectation it would "preserve teacher positions, maintain manageable class sizes, and prevent cuts to student programs." "Yet here we are removing a fully trained PE teacher from the district's highest poverty school," she said, urging the board to consider redrawing boundaries to better use staff and space at Jefferson.
Parent and district employee Sarah Egbert said Jeffersons PE teacher is "so dedicated and so enthusiastic," and warned that assigning PE sections to other specialists will leave them less time to prepare for their own duties and will degrade the program.
Danelle Green and Jessa Sakodi also urged the board to probe the root causes of declining enrollment rather than cutting programs that attract and retain families. Sakodi noted the community voted for the Feb. 10, 2026 levy whose materials promised support for student activities and athletics and asked the board to "make the levy work" for students.
Board chair acknowledged the concerns and indicated the facilities committee is examining boundaries. Superintendent Doctor Renager told the board the facilities committee has begun looking at districtwide facilities and boundaries and that boundary discussions are forthcoming, including for middle schools and neighborhoods where enrollment is shifting.
The public comment period closed after several speakers raised similar equity and programmatic concerns and asked the board for follow-up and more explicit explanations of how personnel decisions were reached.
Next steps: Board members said they expect further discussion in facilities-committee meetings and future board agenda items on boundaries and staffing; no personnel reversal or formal board action on the Jefferson PE assignment was announced at the meeting.
