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Teacher urges board to restore career specialist role after duties shifted to others

Vernonia School District Board of Directors · March 13, 2026
AI-Generated Content: All content on this page was generated by AI to highlight key points from the meeting. For complete details and context, we recommend watching the full video. so we can fix them.

Summary

Teacher Juliet Safier told the board that duties from the former school career specialist were redistributed to counselors and teachers, creating unsustainable workloads and emotional strain; she asked the board to consider funding a certified career specialist in the next budget.

Juliet Safier, speaking as a teacher, described taking on substantial new duties after the district dismantled the school career specialist role formerly held by Ashley Ward. Safier said counselors and other staff now monitor online coursework, oversee digital portfolios and senior projects, and manage scholarship logistics — tasks she described as overwhelming and emotionally taxing.

"We need a real person, and I'm requesting that it be certified," Safier said, asking the board to consider reinstating and funding the career specialist position. A parent who identified themselves as a parent of a senior supported Safier's appeal, saying families have been "stressed out" and that the school had indicated the position would be filled but it has not been.

Board members acknowledged the burden and directed staff to include workload and staffing needs in the upcoming budget discussions, and administrators said they are exploring support options, including paraeducator support for ISPs and other short-term measures while the board considers hiring.