By Martin Gibson
Columbia Gorge News
THE DALLES — Policy change proposals, new bargaining agreements and chaos over a 5-2 yes vote dominated the Jan. 22 North Wasco County School District 21 (NWCSD) school board meeting.
Two board members, David Polehn and Katie Kelley, brought copies of school policy to which they’d made changes.
Kelley’s edits included student dress and grooming, retention — that is, holding students back a grade if needed — and a proposal to forbid remote work by staff.
“I firmly believe that one of the reasons I was hired by my community is because the community wanted a school board leader who will influence our district’s policy the same way that my husband and I run our household,” she said. “And that’s with love and logic ... most of our policies do not have specific parameters, and a lot of our policies are just feel-good declarations. Our policies leave too much to interpretation.”
However, it was clarified that school policy changes must be approved by the Oregon School Boards Association (OSBA), whose specialist will determine if the proposed changes are legal. All changes must follow federal law, Oregon statutes and administrative rules, and local law.
Policy is tied to several Oregon statutes, and approved by the OSBA, which hands it out to local school boards. Local boards which exceed their authority to change these policies can lose funding.
Kelly and Polehn were also directed toward NWCSD’s own previously-approved board policies regarding such updates.
The board reached a consensus to use a “team approach” and will begin the process to legally edit the policies proposed.
Angry vote
The board also ratified collective bargaining agreements with licensed employees, and North Wasco Education Support Professionals.
Abby Ciphers, who teaches second grade at Dry Hollow Elementary, gave a report, noting the district recently signed a new contract with the union of licensed employees.
“Thank you both bargaining teams for their efforts and a special note of appreciation to Director [Kevin] Kramer and Director [Dana]Wynn-Elledge for their service on the bargaining teams,” she said. “While no contract is ever perfect, this vote reflects our members’ desire to move forward and continue working collaboratively with the district.
“It also reflects appreciation for the thoughtful work and the conversations that went into reaching this agreement amid very real financial and operational constraints.”
However, she said, “Licensed staff are still feeling and experiencing high levels of significant burnout. Teachers and specialists are managing increasing workloads while supporting students with increasingly complex needs. Many are doing so by covering classes during their prep time, losing that valuable preparation and stretching themselves thinner than ever before. The ongoing substitute [teacher] shortage further compounds this strain ...
“I’ll put it this way. Our members care deeply about this district and this community. They show up each day because they believe in our students and our community. Ratifying this contract was not a simple vote on numbers and language. It was a vote grounded in the hope that we can continue addressing these challenges together ... Licensed staff are asking for that continued partnership, transparency, and a shared commitment to sustainability, not only for budgets, but for the people who make our schools run every day.”
The board then approved equivalent salary increases for the superintendent, licensed administrators, directors and coordinators by a 5-2 vote — to which board member Wynn-Elledge responded, in part: “... Nobody reached out and let me know that there was a question about that last item not being approved ... I was not aware that there was any concern or objection to this and I feel that this goes against honest and the slashed-out transparency. So I’m not very happy about approving [a new operating agreement for the board]. ... nobody contacted me that there was a problem, and you chose to do the vote, and I don’t feel that we have been represented as a board — that some of us have been singled out and not told about how everybody felt about this last action item. ... I feel like some of you are not being honest with what’s being talked about and I feel like I need to know why everybody else could get a raise but not this last action item.”
Advised that actually, the vote had been 5-2 in favor and the motion passed, she said: “But even still, we’re not being a cohesive unit whether it’s 5-to-2 either way. That’s why we’re working towards a team. We’re not working as a team and this should have been discussed.”
The board then passed its new operating agreement 6-1; Wynn-Elledge was the lone “No” vote.
Funding
Superintendent Carolyn Bernal said the district is “gearing up for the short legislative session, in which top priority is protecting all K12 funding.”
She said the passage of HR1 (“One Big Beautiful Bill”) has “created both a short-term revenue shortfall for all programs funded by state general fund dollars in the ‘25-’27 biennium, and drastically cut federal funding for critical social safety net programs like Medicaid and SNAP.
“These dramatic changes have forced the legislature to consider budget reductions to state funding for programs during the 2026 session and simultaneously prepare for significant loss of federal funding in 2027-29 and 2029-31.”
The school has about $11.12 million in the bank, said Chief Financial Officer Dan Peterson, which will support operations for the rest of the year.
The board also approved co-op resolutions with Dufur school for combined sports teams in baseball, softball, and boys volleyball.
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