School Board

Appreciations

Background and Contributions

April 20, 2016 Brookings-Harbor School Board Meeting

Admin Director Reports - Scroll down to page 7 - BHHS

Ms. Dion/Mr. Gallaghar Emails regarding my request to clear up any misunderstanding from March 16, 2016 shortened presentation

BHHS Bruin Pride: Presenter: Alex Merritt - Notes from presentation

Mr. Mike Freels Motivational Speech - Full transcript Incredibly well-informed since the only previous boad meeting he has been to in the 2015/16 school year is the February 17, 2016 regular school board meeting. Full transcript from that meeting.

Potential Steps to Take

Where does the school board stand?  Gordon Clay, Curry Pilot, May 17, 2016

Transcripts of what I have said at all 2015/16 Regular School Board Meeting

Full transcript of my citizens input 051816

Full transcript of my citizens input 042016

Full transcript of my citizens input 031616

Full transcript of my citizens input 021716

Full transcript of my citizens input 012016

Full transcript of my citizens input 121615

Full transcript of my citizens input 111815 - didn't attend. Sent the Superintendent an email with my comments.

Full transcript of my citizens input 102115

Full transcript of my citizens input 091615

Full transcript of my citizens input 081915

Full transcript of my citizens input 071415

Hazing, Bullying, Harassment, Intimidation, Cyberbullying

7 Points of Conciliation

Coach's Creed Note the last sentence. A "major" violation is the only thing that counts.

Brookings-Harbor/Gold Beach most dangerous schools for 8th graders in the state - so say their 8th graders - 2015 Oregon Healthy Teen Survey. Of particular interest are the questions "Was in a physical fight on school property" and "Threatened with a weapon on school property" I developed the county comparison chart to provide the representatives when I testified before the House Committee on Education on behalf of House Bill 4024 in the very short five-week 2016 session of our legislature. I had a part in creating the law. Unfortunately it got tied up in Ways and Means so we have to start from scrratch in the 2017 session. We hope to make it even stronger. (Short cut at http://bit.ly/1poPrYJ )

2014 / 2015 School Year survey background information
http://www.thecitizenswhocare.org/schoolboard/oregon-healthy-teen-survey.html

Full question as presented to 8th and 11th graders in the 2015 survey.
http://www.thecitizenswhocare.org/schoolboard/bcd-excerpt.html

2015 Oregon Healthy Teen Survey for Bullying, Harassment, Intimidation & Cyberbullying
http://www.thecitizenswhocare.org/schoolboard/oregon-county-chart-healthy-teen.html

2015 Oregon Healthy Teen Survey for Suicidality and Violence
http://www.thecitizenswhocare.org/schoolboard/oregon-county-chart-healthy-teen-2.html

2014 Oregon Student Wellness Survey for Bullying, Harassment, Intimidation & Cyberbullying
http://www.thecitizenswhocare.org/schoolboard/oregon-county-chart-student-wellness.html

2014 Oregon Student Wellness Survey for Suicidality and Violence
http://www.thecitizenswhocare.org/schoolboard/oregon-county-chart-student-wellness-2.html

Behind Closed Doors: What Curry County 8th and 11th Graders Say
http://www.thecitizenswhocare.org/bcd.html

June 19, 2013 Regular School Board meeting minutes

Citizens Input: (From minutes)

Debbie McDonald, Vanessa Keys, Joanna Floyd, Kaitlin Mitts, Molly Joyce, David Freeman, Ciara Freeman, Peter Joyce, Maysea Young, and Steve Young: A group of parents, BHHS students, and former students expressed concerns that they have for an athletic program at the high school.

Dick Wilson: Dick expressed concerns over the hiring process of a coaching position at the high school.

Jamie Ryan stopped the discussion and warned the board that possible policies were being broken and the meeting may need to go into executive session. Brian Hodge added that due process rights were not being considered and other parties involved needed to be informed about an executive session. Jamie Ryan would like a list of all parties involved so they can be informed when an executive session is scheduled. Allene Fewell stated it is time to move the meeting on.

Partial Transcript

September 18, 2013 Special Board Meeting partial transcript

October 16, 2013 Regular School Board Meeting Minutes

Another Form of Bullying: Overview of my comments of the October 19, 2013 Regular School Board Meeting

Partial meeting transcript

Impacted former and current students and parents

November 3, 2015 - Ken Bryan Complainant

Miscellaneous

090815 - Meeting with Sean Gallaghar

092315 - Meeting with Sean Gallaghar

101315 - Meeting with Sean Gallaghar

111815 - Meeting with Sean Gallaghar

011516 - Meeting with Sean Gallaghar

020116 - Meeting with Sean Gallaghar

020816 - Participated in the writing of HB-4024 and testified in favor before the Oregon House Education Committee.

050416 - Meeting with Sean Gallaghar and Bruce Raliegh

Bully Index - Information, statistics, videos, songs, quotes, pod casts and much more on bullying

The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicines May 2016 report about bullying (free 311 page pdf available as is a printed copy.)

Appreciation's

• Removing superintendent Hodge
• More progressive board members
• Hiring more counselors, nurses and mental health professionals.
• Hiring assistance principles
• Improving the IEP program
• The great work being done in the Youth Transition Program and the student gardens.
• Striving offering more career training programs - welding, robotics, etc.
• The process the board went through to hire a new superintendent and to do an analysis of the different departments
• Liked attending the Knowledge Bowls
• The establishment of Bruin PRIDE
• Community participation in Oregon Dreams Big
• Providing the Board Packet before the weekend.
• Periodic updates on areas "Enrollment Comparison", "discipline referals", etc. (Noted exception.)
• I had often said publically that Mr. Dingle's support for our drama students prduced the "Best Theatre in Brookings", bar none.
• The Oregon Dreams Big program
  

Background and Contributions

When I retired after 35 years in advertising, the last 13 running my own agency, I moved to Brookings in 2004. By 2006, I had started the first Through My Eyes essay contest for high school seniors around the impact of alcohol on their lives and got the Curry Coastal Pilot to print an essay in each April issue through Alcohol Prevention Month. The contest drew in over100 entries one year. April, 2013 was the eighth and final year of the contest when I learned that anonymous winner had written a purely fictional story and would not return First Prize and the district "forced" Mr. Dingel out.

I developed and provided free materials, primarily for community action around bullying, getting 23 members of the Brookings Police Department to wear the orange wrist bands during bully prevention week plus hundreds of other community members and gifted the school district over 1,600 wrist bands, book marks, etc. I enrolled the Redwood Cinema to provide a free showing of the Bully Movie - the PG version in the large theater and the G version in the small theater

I developed a community based program around suicide (The Semi-colon Campaign), created the First Friday Salon at the Chetco Public Library for four years, as well as other community meetings. Had a bi-weekly show on "Voices" on KURY-AM radio for four years

Facilitator of Toastmaster's Speechcraft program for four years for Azalea Princesss' (last year's Queen Adelaide Fitzgerald said on stage regarding the benefit she received from the Azalea Pageant that what she learned from the Speechcraft program was the highlight of her high-school career)

Developed the million dollar bill stay-in-school program for the high school.

I chaperoned the Leadership's annual visit to Washington, D.C.

I ran health fairs for teens and adults in Brookings and at the Mill Casino, and have been asked to have a booth at the Teen Fair at Del Norte High School June 9, 2016 and Pacific High School in Port Orford August 17, 2016.

I developed a testicular cancer self-exam shower card and 36 rack cards for parents on how to talk with their kids about tough issues their children may be dealing with and suicide prevention materials to reduce the stigma of asking for help iwhen you need it.

I facilitated getting "Bully Free Zone" metal signs placeed outside Brookings-Harbor, Gold Beach, Port Orford and Del Norte Unified School District schools and "Cyberbullying Free Zone" signs outside school computer labs.

Feeling that the wireless mics used at last year's (2014/15) awards presentation kept cutting out, I offer to give the High School one of my newer wireless hand-held mics and receivers. I was told the situation was taken care of.

I funded the placement of a memorial granite head-stone in the lawn in front of the "Buddie Bench" at the high school.

I offered to promote with the This Is The Edge board a program (similar to Challenge Day) to come to Brookings from Ashland to present their program for free (except for mileage and meals only) Each 3-4 hour session works with around 100 to 120 students for half-a-day. No response from the middle or high school.

Offered to set-up a booth, whenever possible, to reach parents concerning the 36 cards around "talking to your kids about tough issues, before someone else does". No response from middle or high school.

In all of this I've spent several thousand dollars each year out of my social security in support of these programs.

And I am proud to say that I have received the Exceptional Service Recognition Award from the district twice.

June 13, 2013

What happened at the June 13, 2013 board meeting changed much of that. I walk funny after spending five-months in physical rehab because I didn't keep a low-stress level in dealing with the district. I didn't realize what could happen. However, that situation was taken care of in July of 2014.

I've met most of the people who have bullied children at a booth I have had a couple of times a year at Fred Meyers

I helped quelled the furver against the district on Chitter-Chatter encouraging people complaining about the bullying of their children to follow policy.

I've worked with many families who were going to leave the district because of bullying. Among those, Jan and Warren Krick, Heather and Ed Charlton, Dave Wohlman, Jodi Harvey decided to move to a better educational system. I'm still in contact with all of them. All but one family moved out of state.

I currently have nine families (just added Mr. Bryan) who still have kids who are being bullied but the kids don't want to go through what the girl's basketball players went through. Two of those families are making plans to sell and move, if possible this summer, to a more conducive district for their kids.

I worked with Dr. Bush and Bruce Raleigh to review and revamp over 600 board policies to help insure what had happened at that board meeting would never happen again. Among other things, we altered some school board harassment policies against OSBA's recommendation to weaken them. Unfortunately for your students, OSBA prevailed and convinced the board that they should be weakened on 2/17/16.

There was a nice press release printed in the July 25, 2015 issue of the Curry Coastal Pilot saying what the board was going to do. The same statement was read at the Auust 19, 2015 board meeting which I attended. And a Coach's Creed was presented as well.

I come from 35 years in the advertising business handling clients like P&G, Nestle, Levi Straus, Mattel and California's "Happy Cows". I know a PR release from an action plan.

When the press release was released, I immediately noted these areas of concern:

Harassment policies - OSBA actually weakened them to protect the district, not strenghtened to protect the students.

Coach's creed - only applied to MAJOR offenses by a coach.

The board's reluctance to make a public statement around how they plan to address each of the "7 Points of Conciliation" as suggested by ODE in the 26 page "Finding of Facts, Conclusions and Final Order" Case Reference No. 1013001." It has been my continual request to see where the board and district stand that prompted one of Mr. Freels "blah blah blah" remarks about bullying. If only the board would respond it might bring this discussion to conclusion.

Now the board doesn't have to do anything I recommend but here are some areas that would be easy to do and might give some students and their parents a better feeling about reporting acts of bullying against their children:

Incorporate the word "safe" in the Board's Mission statement.

Add a goal of providing safe schools in their 14 pages of board, district and school goals

Outline for the public what they plan to do around the "7 Points of Conciliation", if anything.

Put information on the district web site around safe schools, bullying, how to notice the effects on a victum or bully and what procedure to follow.

Oppose OSBA's efforts to weaken harassment policies, specifically:

Official school bus stops is limited, not by law but by this revised policy, to bullying, harassment and intimidation only (outreach to community to keep an eye on students at official school bus stops and report what they see (publish guidelines for community members on what to watch for)

Put back in the information that complainants have the right under Oregon law to take a complaint to ODE any time after 90 days regardless of where the complaint stands in the district's review procedure

Return to the word "must" regarding employees reporting suspective bullying (etc.) from the use of the word "shall." Also, the superintendent "must" include in traing, not "shall".

This is not my final answer.

April 20, 2016 Brookings-Harbor School Board Meeting

I was disappointed in what happened at the April 20, 2016 regular school board meeting. It seemed to replicate how the previous district and board worked. The district and board made no outreach before the meeting to discuss the situation (as stipulated in board policy.). Allowing school employee's to publically make despairing remarks about community members while being protected by school policy since those community members aren't allowed to respond. (Board policy dealing with community members - BDDH, KA/KAA, KB, KBA and KC. ) On the positive side, I think the Oregon Dreams Big program is a good start to involve the community. I was the first person to sign-up for it.

I find it disconserting that the administration denigrates me for revealing "Facts" about what has been happening in the district. Being accused of "disrespectful and unkind words directed at our school board members" "hostile, untrue criticisms that attack teachers", "repeated attacks that are exploitive and misguided" without providing any back-up, which I asked for and was refered to the district office. (If you want to know exactly what I said at any board meeting this year, it can be found here.)

• Allowed the building reports to be used as a soap box to malign a concerned member of the community.
  • Previous board meeting Ms. Dion was shaking her head no when I stated a 67% increase in disruptive behavior last year, the transition year.
  • I talked with her after the meeting and she said my data was wrong.
  • I said I have the data in the car and went to get a copy.
  • I gave it to her and she said that I needed to consider other factors.
  • And she said before I make a statement like that I need to explain the methodology.
  • I sent her an email asking for access to that information
  • She refused to continue the discussion further and passed it on to the district
  • The district basically said the information wasn't available to the public and gave no options to base a comment on except what I already had that was public information.
• The board chair and superintendent's clearing to make Ms. Dion's report public knowledge through the district's web site.
• I'm glad that the second person in the hierarchal at BHHS and a 200 pound student aren't afraid to walk down the halls. The inclusion of statements in Mr. Merritt's presentation when he basically discounted 15% of last year's 8th graders' (almost 3 times the average Oregon school) actual experience with having a weapon drawn on them ON SCHOOL GROUNDS. And when almost 24% of our 8th graders were in a physical fight on school grounds last year. "Mr. Kleepsie - anyone ever threaten you on school grounds? Anyone ever pull a knife on you on school grounds." "No." Some in the audience seemed to think it's funny.
• I was glad to hear the report by Mr. Merritt on Discipline Referals. I expect them to increase rather rapidly for the next few years as administrators and teachers become more aware of discipline issues and the system of Bruin PRIDE becomes more entrenched in middle-school students as they transition into high-school. However, I wonder why there isn't a comparison of students without a discipline referal, to see where change is really happening. To include students with one referal distrots the information and makes it of little use.
• I think that a school official asked Mr. Freels to come in and specifically attack me by name. "getting emails, attacking teachers" (Dion's line.). Blah blah blah to the facts that he by his own admission isn't aware of, that show Gold Beach and Brookings as being the most dangerous school district in the state from the student's perspective. (The board did this with the infamous October, 2013 board meeting. Hodge's comment to Jamie and maybe Kathryn at the prior special board meeting "The important thing is to get as many people there as possible."
• Possible litigation against an individual and the district for allowing it to happen and supporting it. That's a very distant possibility but one that has definite grounds.

 
Potential Steps to Take

• Supressing all healthy teen and wellness data from public access. Actions taken by the district to further with-hold information from the public - taking all access to all healthy teen and wellness reports off the web site. What are you worried about? That kind of action makes the community even more questioning of the district. What are you afraid of? To say it is to protect the identity of all students seems dubious at best. There is no instance that a student is identified and the developers of the surveys and the lead researcher at ODE on the Wellness survey and the Health Teen survey have no idea how you could determine a student's identity from the survey results that have been reported in the past. The district has the prefect right to withhold the results from the public and, in fact, not do the survey at all and save ODE some money. However, interested parents and community members, and those non-profits that use the survey results to determine if their programs for the schools are working or if the school uses their grant money effectively, lose a valuable tool for that determination. Being held accountable for the policies you have enacted in the last two years would also give a reality check on how effective new programs really are, from the students' perspective. (Admin)
• OAR 581-022-1940 is designed to "...encourage a prompt resolution of a omplaint...", December 3 to April 20 is 139 days, 49 days over the 90 day period accorded which would include the board appeal process (10 working days (maximum of 14 actual days) that has yet to happen and the board review process could add a another 30 working days (or a maximum of 42 actual days for a total provess of 198 total days if those periods aren't extended. That's well over twice the time that the school board's policy JFCF-AR alots for the entire process
• KL and KL-AR review. Directing the public to policies that don't exist and adding policies that were never, I believe, approved by the board for implementtion.
• JFCF, JFCF-AR allowing people involved in an incident to be the investigator of the incident. Removing official school bus stop, etc.
• Place citizens comments after spot light, etc.
• Have a camera observing the Commons area. Extra supervision doesn't capture 80% of what's going on.
• While you can't put a camera in restrooms, what about a microphone? Is that against the law? Bathrooms aren't meant to be private places within the school area to tell secrets or do illegal acts and harassment, yet that is often the place where most intimidation happens at many schools.
• Make the answers to the 7 points of conciliation public - if the board ever actually wrote them.
• Make healthy teen and wellness data readily available to the public. Be transparent
• Redesign the "green chart" to reflect those students who have had "zero" referals.
• Make a concerted effort to develop the largest GSA in the state. Take steps to get a strong advisor and break the homophobia that keeps students surpressed. GSAs have proven to really shift all levels of harassment. It takes courage.
• Develope a large "Diversity" Club as an initial step, prior to starting a GSA, if needed.
• Use data versus anecdotes in Mr. Bryan's case: The decision against the alledged agressor was built around four points. Two points were out-right lies. If that is so, it would put into question the validity of the other two points.
  

Closing