Board grapples with fear of ‘unimaginable violence’

“There really are no words as it is hard to comprehend this type of unimaginable violence,” Superintendent Rich Polkinghorn said during his board communication at the beginning of the meeting. “What’s harder still to comprehend is that this violence continues. As I listen and learn more about the event, the terror, the lives lost, the innocence stolen, I am torn between despair and anger, and I am just heartbroken.”

He stressed the partnerships with local law enforcement and “all the things the school district has done and is doing to be prepared for an act of violence in Hood River.”

As of the June 1 board meeting, there had been 27 school shootings this calendar year, he said. “I know we don’t like to think about this. We don’t think something like this could happen in Hood River; I’m sure the good people in 27 other communities didn’t think it would happen in their community, either.”

The district has implemented many measures to keep students safe, from increased availability of elementary and middle school counselors to electronic access controls that can lock all exterior doors with the push of a button in schools.

“… But these efforts do not address the root cause of why tragedies like the one in Uvalde, Texas, happen. These efforts are a patch,” he said. “We all know the debate: It’s a mental health crisis or it’s a lack of gun regulation. We’ve all heard the partisan political polarization of this national tragedy and great crisis. Since the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in 2012, no meaningful federal gun legislation has passed Congress.”

He said the public needs to contact congresspersons and senators and demand they take action — to pass gun control legislation or fund mental health programs or both, or to share a different idea that might be better or unconsidered.

“Demand that something be done by the people who are elected into the positions of power and authority, who have the capacity to enact laws and pass budgets in our state and nation … it is their responsibility to do something to prevent future tragedies from happening in our schools. It is their responsibility to protect our children and our staff from this ever happening again.”

Hood River County parent Raija Bushnell was the sole speaker during the public comment portion of the meeting. “There was something terrible that happened last week and I’m here tonight because we once again watched children get slaughtered at their school,” she told school board members. “And I’m sure like a lot of people here, it made me feel sick, it made me feel helpless and it made me feel scared. And thank you for the update on the school measures and the safety measures — the communication has been so appreciated. But it’s not enough. It’s not enough because it doesn’t prevent children and adults from accessing those guns in the first place.”

She then shared information about Initiative Petition 17 (www.lifteveryvoiceoregon.com), a gun safety initiative that needs 140,000 signatures to be placed on the statewide November ballot. “So if like me over the last week you’ve asked, ‘Why is this still happening and why is no one doing anything about this to stop it,’ I ask you as parents and citizens of Oregon to help stop this from happening again in Oregon (and sign the petition).”

The board also heard a capital projects report that included an update on construction of the Hood River Middle School new entry project, one of the last projects stemming from a bond measure passed by voters in 2016. Work will begin this summer, with a completion date slated prior to spring break 2023. HRMS is currently the only school in the district that does not have a secured entrance.

“I started on the board as we did the whole capital project and … a large part of it was making our buildings safer,” said Board Member Corinda Hankins Elliott. “And it so saddens me that we are still in this position where we have these tragedies happen. I’m thankful to be part of a school district that has put their money towards trying to make things safer for the kids, but I am so sad that we have to spend our money this way.”

She reiterated Polkinghorn’s earlier message of contacting elected officials. “The fact of the matter is that we have to have people that we elect start to really have impetus to change these things.

“… I want to also put out there to our community that I think it’s something that we need to all work on together,” she added. “And it doesn’t need to be just the school district doing it and it doesn’t need to be just the school district saying it.”