In a shocking and brazen display of raw partisanship, the Sherwood School District posted a letter on its website that referenced a list of Resources for Staff Members with links to a document entitled Opportunities for White People in the Fight for Racial Justice suggesting that educators "Vote for Democrats" and "Donate to campaigns of local progressive politicians...who are trying to unseat incumbent Republicans/conservatives."

The letter was posted Jun 4, 2020, 11:07 AM by Christine Andregg, who is listed in the School District staff directory as working for the district office.

The resource referenced above, contained graphics, including one section with a sub-heading "Electoral Politics" which said,

"Vote for Democrats. Exception could be voting for candidates of color in elections where a White person and a person of Color are running for the same position from the same political party."

"Donate to campaigns of progressive people of Color running for political offices. Donate to campaigns of local progressive politicians in other cities/States who are trying to unseat incumbent Republicans/conservatives."

"Actively fundraise for and campaign on behalf of progressive/radical politicians (especially non-White people), including those running in local elections (school boards, transportation agencies, housing authorities, city councils)."

Another section, entitled "Your Job" encourges Sherwood School District employees to use their job function to tip the scales in favor of minorities, presumably above the current legal requirements to do so.

"Use your job position to help Black, Brown, and Indigenous People. Ex: purposefully seek out Black and Brown people to interview for jobs, and use Black caterers, or Indigenous speakers."

The posting is almost certainly in violation of Oregon Law. ORS 260.432 makes clear:

(2) No public employee shall solicit any money, influence, service or other thing of value or otherwise promote or oppose any political committee or promote or oppose the nomination or election of a candidate, the gathering of signatures on an initiative, referendum or recall petition, the adoption of a measure or the recall of a public office holder while on the job during working hours. However, this section does not restrict the right of a public employee to express personal political views.

A similar incident was made public by the Northwest Observer in June, when staff from the Governor's office was reported linking to similar documents.

The letter was signed by all the members of the of the Sherwood School Board, as well as the Superintendent:

Dr. Heather Cordie, Superintendent is a registered Democrat. You can contact her at hcordie@sherwood.k12.or.us

Patrick Allen, Board Chair is a registered Democrat. Interestingly, he's no stranger to controversy these days as the Department Head of the Oregon Health Authority. You can contact him in his capacity as Board Chair at patrickallen@sherwood.k12.or.us

Sue Hekker, Board Vice Chair, is a registered Democrat. You can contact her at hcordie@sherwood.k12.or.us

Eric Campbell, Board Member is a registered Democrat. You can contact him at ericcampbell@sherwood.k12.or.us

Jessica Adamson, Board Member is a registered Democrat, who is also a registered lobbyist and Director of Government Relations, Oregon at Providence Health & Services. It is not known what professional relationship she has with the OHA director. You can contact her at jessicaadamson@sherwood.k12.or.us

Michael Hiland, Board Member is a registered Democrat. You can contact him at michaelhiland@sherwood.k12.or.us

Update: The Sherwood School District has replaced the "resource" document referred to in this article with an updated version that does not have the link to Opportunities for White People in the Fight for Racial Justice.


--Staff Reports

Post Date: 2020-07-06 17:05:21

Last Update: 2020-07-06 19:09:06