On June 4, 2020, the Sherwood School District released a letter to parents, students, staff and community members. It addresses issues of race. The letter is not a big issue, it’s the links inside the digital letter that are a big issue.

Inside the letter are a couple of links called “resources”. The first is directed to staff. The second is directed to students and families. It’s the first that is a problem. Specifically the link on the “resource” page that is entitled: “Opportunities for White People in the Fight for Racial Justice”. Don’t let the title fool you. The screenshot below tells you one part of the document that is the part ALL should be very concerned with. This is the school board and the school superintendent telling the staff to “vote Democrat” and to “contribute to Democrats”. That would be very, very forbidden for a school district to do. See graph from the link below:

I’ve been told that things like this are common from the teacher’s union but NOT from the school superintendent nor the school board. Note also that the school board chair is none other than Oregon Health Authority Director Pat Allen, the one who’s been working with the Governor on the coronavirus situation since it first started. This is a matter that will have to be addressed by the Secretary of State as it appears to be a clear violation of state campaign laws. I urge all who read this to write to the Secretary of State and demand this matter be investigated. If you live in Sherwood School District, you might contact the School Board members, too.

This school board is not a bunch of backwoods rubes. The director of the Oregon Health Authority and a Lobbyist for Providence Hospitals should both know better than to have such a naked, partisan push published on a taxpayer-funded website.

Further, as people are struggling with the government response to the COVID-19 outbreak, as well as trying to thoughtfully respond to issues of race, it strikes me as very unsportsmanlike for the party in power to use public resources to increase its grip.

Oregon Revised Statute 260.432 on the use of public resources for political purposes is clear:

Solicitation of public employees; activities of public employees during working hours; recognized student government exception. (1) No person shall attempt to, or actually, coerce, command or require a public employee to influence or give money, service or other thing of value to promote or oppose any political committee or to 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.

(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.

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.




--State Representative Bill Post

Post Date: 2020-07-06 17:21:37

Last Update: 2020-07-06 19:22:43