Letter to the Board from Karina Taylor, Parent and former BSD Business Manager

October 13th, 2025

Dear Bandon School Board Members,

My name is Karina Taylor and I have lived in Bandon for nine years. I am writing both as a concerned citizen and parent of two students in the district.

First, as a parent, I learned this week that my son just lost his math teacher. Lynden is passionate about math. That may sound weird, but it’s true. If you ask any of his wonderful elementary teachers (Trevisiol, Goodwin, Prasky, Weston or Tulles) they will surely confirm that math is the thing that lights the room behind the windows of this kid’s eyes. This year has been wonderful so far for Lynden, and a big part of that has to do with the fact that for the first time, he has a dedicated math teacher. Ms. Shipp has been able to push him to the edges of his zone of proximal development and this has made school engaging, challenging and rewarding for him. Unfortunately, like so many other employees in this district, Ms. Shipp has been on the receiving end of retaliatory actions, involuntary transfers, and generally abusive labor practices. Due to this treatment she resigned last week and as a result, my son and his classmates do not have a math teacher.

As we all know by now, this is NOT an isolated incident and this is NOT the result of a small group of disgruntled employees. Bandon School District (BSD) has become an unsafe environment to work in. Over twenty employees have already resigned as a direct result of gross and negligent mistreatment of employees by the Superintendent. In the last year alone, we have lost three well respected math teachers. It is unlikely that these positions will be filled by equally qualified candidates. So, I leave you with this question and heartfelt concern. Who is going to teach my kid now that over half the highly qualified math teachers in the district have resigned due to mistreatment by our current Superintendent?

Second, as a citizen and former employee I have first-hand knowledge and informed concern about the mis-treatment of employees and potential violations of fiduciary responsibility and the public trust. My, “Informed” concern stems from my personal experience dealing with the Superintendent during her first weeks on the job. It was COVID times, so I guess in an ironic sense you could call me, “Patient zero.” I was the first to experience the irrational outbursts, authoritarian tirades and irrational thinking that has come to be known as our current Superintendent’s calling card. I am happy to share a detailed report on my experience upon request but for our purposes here I will just say this: Our Superintendent wasted tens of thousands of district dollars on legal fees, administrative leave salary, substitute payroll costs and retraining/re-hiring in an attempt to sully my name. All of this turmoil, waste and negative energy could have been avoided with a few brief, professional, and transparent discussions.

Since confidential[1] employees are not union represented I did immediately seek guidance from one specific mentor with the Oregon School Business Officials (OASBO) New Business Manager Institute (NBMI)[2], and then legal counsel swiftly after. After three months of paid leave, I removed myself from my position under Shauna Schmerer’s leadership. I then moved to a different district to continue my school business career and am in no way “disgruntled.” I share this experience only to illuminate two facts. One, I have personal experience with the way employees are treated, and two, after writing the 2019 to 2022 budget books, I’m one of the few qualified citizens in our community when it comes to identifying red flags that relate to fiduciary responsibility by the district.

Having followed the district budget closely for the past few years, there are several items that need to be brought to your attention. Below I listed a few concerns and if you would like more details about any of these items please reach out to me.

1- Inappropriate relationships between the Superintendent and school board members, specifically personal relationships with members who were responsible for the Superintendent’s annual reviews and salary increases/mid-year additions.

2- Nepotism with regards to hiring/firing and salary. 

3- The $14,000 travel budget the Superintendent received in 2024 is a red flag. Then actual expenditures over $15,000. Historically this item would have been less than half this number. Why was it so high?

4- Actual salary percentage increases in function 2320, Executive Administration[4] compared to Classified and Certified increases[5].  The actual salary for the 22/23 school year is documented as .96 Full Time Equivalency which is especially concerning. Where is the other .04 FTE salary listed? The Superintendent took over an interim  Director of Operations position and I quote, “ I sucked at it.” What was the negotiated salary for that position?

I want to close by saying that I moved to Bandon to raise my family and I am deeply committed to the well-being of this community. I am thankful for all the hard work of district employees, coaches and community members that have helped make this a great place for my family and I pledge to continue the fight to make this school district the best it can be. I would also like to say that in addition to the large number of current and former employees who have already shared their stories, there are MANY more[6] who have not due to concerns about retaliation against themselves and their families. While I understand their reticence, I hope that my being here will help them gain the courage to come forward and share their experiences.

Sincerely,

 Karina Taylor