Hello all, thank you for this site. This site makes it possible for our voices to be heard regarding our district.   Your hard work is appreciated!!

 With that said, last night I watched the most recent school board meeting on YouTube.  These are my thoughts after viewing:

 Teachers have no true voice with the union being treated in such a way. The union representative gave a public apology for her past words. Where is the superintendent’s public apology? I think we all saw more truth than the board really wanted us to see! That’s why the comment of ‘you’re (or we’re) done’ came out. Those words and actions showed blatant disrespect for the people the superintendent is accountable to!  A person in power is supposed to lift people and set professional standards through their role modeling.  A Superintendent listens to staff, families, and community who have questions, concerns, and comments; and responds in a way that makes people feel they are seen, heard, and understood. 

 A superintendent is responsible for the welfare of our students, assuring students have conditions conducive to learning, not shifting staff all over the place. Yes, there is a lot to dig into here in Coos County, though I agree with Jessica Markham-Brink that the previous complaints show that our current superintendent is no stranger to causing chaos wherever she goes!

I truly believe the current Superintendent has a lot of goodwill to spread around.  If our current Superintendent does not seek to understand why the community is upset, how can she pursue the issues that people are concerned about?   She states that she is being bullied. Hmm? Is it because people are standing up to her for accountability!! No one is perfect.  It is alright to state that a situation wasn't handled well & in the future, you will take others' comments & concerns into consideration.

My biggest concern is what good are the Superintendent's ‘listening sessions’ going to do if she can’t hear the words from her constituents without being fueled with blatant upset, stating she’s ‘being attacked’? Plus, I’m not so won over by her public engagement skills, not being able to address the forum without her speech to read & stumbling over her own words. I know that Bandon has done better in the past & will again in the future, though most likely ‘better’ will come after Schumer. (Unless she really holds herself accountable to the community, students & staff).

 Furthermore, canceling the staff luncheon & a speaker to save dollars shows how much our Superintendent cares about staff & engaging with them. I am deeply saddened that a Superintendent decided to cut out the "Staff Luncheon", all for the sake of a budget! The Superintendent could have forgone her office renovation & used those dollars for a staff luncheon to help create a sense of community & belonging. Do the math. Is our Superintendent saying that for the sake of a budget, our teachers aren’t worth approximately $100 each? ( $3.500 for food, 5,000 for a speaker with around 117 employees comes out to: $72.65!) Sad that the superintendent cut this from the budget! To me = low morale! Bandon teachers, you are worth way more than this calculation for an employee dinner & speaker!!!! Teachers, so many of us truly appreciate you! We know you are worth more than roughly $73.00 of appreciation!! We all know it takes dollars to run a school; staff need to feel appreciated & have a sense of belonging!

  Too, spending how many dollars to buy a new school bus when buying a crate motor or transmission, or both, would be cheaper than a whole new bus and would save a lot of dollars on the budget. I do not l know how all decisions are made, though I do know Bandon will survive Shauna Schumer!!!

Cordially,

 Cynthia Hoggatt

 Class of 1987

 Parent of 1 past student

 Parent of a present student

 Bandonian for 33 years