Community group challenges School Board decision…

In the days since the San Juan Island School District accepted elementary school principal Gary Pflueger’s resignation earlier this month, upset community members have been meeting & discussing different responses to the action, ranging from a recall of the board, to arbitration & observation of the process with a possible change in the decision, to demanding a complete reversal of the decision.

In the meetings I’ve attended, the consistent theme I hear is how much people care about the kids in this community, and how they believe they had a good deal with Gary as principal at FHES.

This is an extremely difficult time for everyone involved.

One diverse community group has prepared the letter below addressing the issues, and lays out the direction they would like to see taken by the board. The 150 signees are major players in the island’s education scene: PTA folks, present & former FHES teachers, para-educators, parents, volunteers, citizens with extensive education background & experience, and concerned citizens. I understand it is their intent to present this at tonight’s School Board meeting (here is the posted agenda).

Here is that letter:

Open Letter to the San Juan Island School District Community

We live in a truly remarkable community of concerned citizens who are passionate about the quality of our children’s education. We are passionate about ensuring opportunities for our children to succeed academically in their schools. We all appreciate and understand that success in life begins with a good education.

We are a community of shared interest with a commitment and dedication to our schools and our children’s education. It is with this shared interest that we come together to resolve the current educational crisis. This crisis is the termination of our elementary school principal, Gary Pflueger. Gary Pflueger has demonstrated his superior leadership and management skills, his hard work and passion for the success of our students as well as his dedication to professional excellence. All of these qualities must have been apparent to our school board when Mr. Pflueger was offered the position and we as the community have greatly benefited from that decision. It is truly significant that Gary Pflueger has the enthusiastic support of his faculty and the enthusiastic support of his staff. But, most importantly, Gary Pflueger has the enthusiastic support, respect and also the love of his students.

This confluence of educational atmosphere and social goodness is a remarkable achievement of Gary Pflueger. This is not accidental; it is recognized by the community, the faculty, the staff and the students and now needs to be recognized by our School Board.

We recognize that there are concerns, but in the light of Gary Pflueger’s remarkable leadership and management skills, we suspect that our School Board is focused only on an administrative task or reporting procedure. If this is the situation, we as members of the educational community will concentrate all of our efforts to remedy this occurrence. However, there is another issue that needs to be addressed in addition to Gary Pflueger, it is also our School Board’s unwillingness to seriously consider the overwhelming community support and disappointment. Fundamentally, this is our School Board and they cannot be allowed to detach themselves from legitimate community concerns.

We are unwilling to accept the departure of our principal who has served our students and our community with such distinction and who has the adoration of students and faculty. We will genuinely work with our school board to achieve a common ground of understanding, identification of educational and professional expectations and mutual satisfaction of shared interest.

We expect that our School Board will receive this offer with the enthusiasm with which it is generated.

Rest assured should this shared interest not be reciprocated by our School Board, we will pursue all available courses of action.

Respectfully,

Bridgette Altena, Director Stepping Stones
Daryl Andrews, Father of Two FHES Students
Kerry Andrews, Mother of Two FHES students
Joann Ashlock, Former Educator and College Administrator
Steve Ashlock, Former Educator and Attorney
Adam Ayers, Parent
Kristy Ayers, Parent
Tito Bayas, Father of Three
Anne Benedict, Retired Teacher, Grandmother of FHES student
Jenny Benedict, Private Investigator, Mother of Two
Rick Benedict, Retired Teacher, Grandfather of FHES student
Colleen Bennett, Concerned Community Member
Andrea Berlatsky
Anita Blaine, Concerned Citizen
Christopher Blaine, Concerned Citizen
Adrienne Bourne, A Parent Who is Concerned that the Board does not Act in a Fair or Legal Way.
Floyd Bourne
Sandy Buckley, Community Member
Tom Bullock
Heather Cain, Island Resident
Alexis Carter, Mother of Three, Two of which are currently students at FHES
Andrea Champlin
Kenny Christison, Parent, Business Owner, Community Volunteer
Jeff Clark
Linda Degnan Cobos, Fellow Community Member
Richard Coffey
Teresa DeGraaff, K-12 Substitute Teacher
Jennifer DeShon, FHES PTA Board Member
Bonnie Davis, Citizen
Alice Deane, Interested Citizen of San Juan Island
Teddy Deane
Angela deGavre
Robert T. deGavre
Lawrence Curt Delay
Tami Doenges, Mother of FHES student
Tom Doenges, Father of FHES student
Carol Duke, Ret. Teacher, Grandmother of 2 FHES Students, Mother of 2 Public School Teachers
Lisa Duke, Parent
Ron Duke, Ret. H.S. Soccer Coach, Grandfather of 2 FHES Students, Father of 2 Public School Teachers
Bill Eager
Claire Eager
Darlene Eames, Concerned Member of the Community
R. Alden Reeves Edwards
Shawn Yvette Ellis, Parent of FHES 4th Grader
Brad Fincher
Debbi Fincher
Jen Flemming
Mark Flemming
Anna Frampton
Natasha Frey, Parent of FHES Student and Classroom Volunteer
Jennifer Beck Furber, Mother of Three, School Volunteer, PTA Member
Kent Gale, Community Member
Tawny Garcia, Parent
Lorin Geiser, Friday Harbor Business Owner
Mikayla Geiser, Friday Harbor Business Owner
Sharon Grace, Attorney and Grandmother of FHES student
Lisa Hamlette, Paraeducator (4 years)
Duffy Harley, Parent and Citizen
David Harold, Parent of Two Students at FHES
Irene C. Haskew, M.Ed., M.A., SJI Resident, Grandmother of FHES Student and Future FHES Student
Penelope Haskew, Mother of FHES Student and 1 future FHES Student
Alice Rose Hibberd, Sub. Teacher FHES, Dance Instructor, 4-H Challenge Facilitator
Nancy Hieronymus, Grandmother and Reading Buddy
Diane Kinnaman Hollis, Mother of Two FHES Students
Jay Ibold, Supporting Remedy to Discontent but not Board Dismissal
Marc Islam
Jamie Iverson, Parent of Kindergarten Student
Barbara Jensen
John Jensen
Jennifer Kaden
Boo Boo Keane
Dean Kenny, Owner San Juan Plumbing
Terry D. Kruth, Retired Educator
Theodore R. Kruth, P.E.
Claudia LaCava, Concerned Citizen
Nina LeBaron, Architect and Parent
Jeanette Logan, Mother of FHMS Student
Barbara Lord, Mother of 2 FHES Students
Jeremiah Lord, Father of 2 FHES Students
Joy Lord, Grandmother of 2 FHES Students, B.A. in Elementary Education
Matt Marinkovich, Father of 3 in SJISD, President Fish for Teeth, Local Business Owner
Maureen Marinkovich, Parent
Stephanie Mattox, Concerned Parent of 2nd and 4th grade FHES Students, Substitute Librarian
Rich Mattox, Concerned Parent of 2nd and 4th grade FHES Students
Kevin Mattson, Father
Susan Mazzarella
Callie McKay, Parent
Ann Templeton Monin, M.S. Special Education
Noel Monin, Concerned Parent
Angie Morrison, Resident of SJI for 37 years
Geneva Mottet, College Student, 4-H Leader, Volunteer at FHES
Iskandar Must, Parent of 2 FHES Students
Thomas S. Odegard, Water Operations Island Wide Fire Department, Investor
Michael Otis, Father of 4, Island citizen of 38 years, Attended SJI public schools 2nd-12th Grade
Julie Packard
Midge Paterson, Retired elementary teacher of 25 years
Kris Phillips, Office Manager
Rebecca Phillips, LPN and Mom
Nicholas E.D. Power, Father of one FHES student and one future FHES student, Attorney
Stacey Prentice, Mother
Chris Raichlen, Concerned Parent of Two
Nancy Raichlen, Concerned Citizen
Steve Raichlen, Concerned Citizen
Jeff Rathburn, Parent of FHES Student
Kim Rathburn, Harbor Veterinary Services, Office Manager
Sandy Richard
John Richardson, Father
Kristi Richardson, Mother
Kathryn Ross, Community Member and Former Middle School Teacher
Lori L. Ronhaar
Celia Roth, Life-Long Islander, Age 13
Kevin Roth, Father of Three, Friday Harbor Resident for 33 Years
Lorena Ryan, Friday Harbor Resident and Grandmother of FHES Student
Steven Ryan, Father of FHES Student
Laura Jo Severson
John Shaller, Concerned Parent
Mary Mead Smith, SJISD Substitute Teacher
Robert L. “Smithy” Smith
Jean Staben, R.N. and Mother of FHES Student
Craig Staude, Ph.D
Jerry St. Dennis, Interested Resident of San Juan Island
Deborah Strasser, Mother of Five
Robert Strasser
Doris M. Sumner
Thomas Swan, Parent of a Kindergarten Student
Mike Taylor, Parent
Regan Taylor, Mother of 2 Who Would Love to Find a Solution
Myah Thompson, Parent, Community Member, Preschool Teacher
Diane Undeberg, Mother of FHES 4th Grade and FHES Kindergarten Student
Juan Pablo Tobon Velilla
Becky Volk, Parent of Two FHES Students
Gidget Walters, Parent of an incredible 1st Grader
Robert Walters, Parent of an incredible 1st Grader
Rita R. Weisbrod
Susan D. Williamson, Paraeducator FHES
Tanja Williamson, But Does Not Support Recall
Chris Wisniewski
Janet Wright, Former Teacher in SJISD for over 28 years, Taxpayer and Voter
Richard Wright, Former Teacher in SJISD for over 20 years
Amy J.H. Wynn, Parent and Concerned Community Member
NAME WITHHELD #1, FHES Staff
NAME WITHHELD #2, FHES Staff
NAME WITHHELD #3, FHES Staff
NAME WITHHELD #4, FHES Staff
NAME WITHHELD #5, FHES Staff
NAME WITHHELD #6, FHES Staff
NAME WITHHELD #7, FHES Staff
NAME WITHHELD #8, FHES Staff
NAME WITHHELD #9, FHES Staff
NAME WITHHELD #10, Construction Worker

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