Parents, teachers call for Oakridge superintendent removal

Batten says the district and teacher's union have been negotiating a memorandum of understanding since August.

To the vaccine.

Parents and staff in the oakridge school district are speaking out tonight -- about why they want the superintendent -- gone immediately.

Kezi 9 news reporter emma jerome spoke with parents and staff*ahead of a school board meeting set for*tomorrow --- about why they believe -- she's*doing more harm than good.

Karen batten: "in 22 years of teaching i have never felt so disrespected and disposable" michael wilson: " the overall lack of trust and respect for the teachers and the staff is leading to a toxic working environment" emma jerome: "oakridge has one elementary school and one joint junior senior highschool.

It's the center of this community.

And teachers and parents say the foundation is cracked.

Communication virtually non existent.

Now they're calling for change."

Teachers say they only found out they'd be required to teach from the building 9 days before the start of the school year.

Michael: "as we got closer to the school year we were told there isn't a plan, we have to wait, we aren't quite ready yet" "so we either had to scramble for child care which for me wasn't a choice because i didn't want to expand my contact circles" or they had to request leaves of absense which were only paid for 12 weeks batten says the district and teacher's union have been negotiating a memorandum of understanding since august "there have been times where the district has stalled for 5 or 6 weeks" and parents are fed up nicole sulick: "i do not get regular communication from my school like i did before superintendent doland came" nicole sulick said the district is hemmoraging good staff at the hands of doland "she's driving off so many good teachers and the teachers we do have are not being treated professionally" the community has created a petition calling for the school board to remove doland as the superintendent -- saying recent weeks have shed light on a much larger problem being a lack of respect and ethics from the superintendent according to them -- there has been no explanation as to why teachers can't teach from home batten even said it was reccomended to her that she resign if she didn't want to teach from the building karen "resignation just gets mentiones like that's your option if you don't do what i say" the school board will be having a zoom meeting tomorrow evening "if they are able to conduct their business from home and they don't meet as a group of 7 to 8 then we should be allowed to do the same thing" public comment is on the school board meeting's agenda, however it says complaints about personnel will not be heard reporting in oakridge emma jerome kezi 9 news we've reached out to the district office, as well as the school board for comment -- but have not heard back.

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