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Hillsboro School District Superintendent Mike Scott shared an initial communication with staff and families about the potential for a school closure on Wednesday, May 8, in response to an anticipated teacher walkout.
April 18, 2019
Dear Hillsboro School District Staff and Families,
As many of you know, the Oregon Education Association (OEA) has called for a statewide "Day of Action" on Wednesday, May 8, in which teachers are encouraged to participate in a walkout in hopes of spurring the Legislature to act on providing stable and adequate funding for K-12 education.
As a district, we, too, have been in conversations with our elected officials about the need for a predictable and sufficient funding stream for K-12 education, and we support efforts to reach that end; however, we cannot endorse an employee walkout.
That said, we do appreciate that our local teachers’ union, the Hillsboro Education Association (HEA), has engaged in conversations with us about this day in advance so we have an opportunity to problem-solve and develop contingency plans.
At this time, it appears that a number of our licensed staff members intend to participate in the walkout. We are also hearing the same information from districts around us. Because of the uncertainty around our ability to have enough of our own staff members or substitutes to ensure adequate supervision and safety for students, it is likely that we will need to cancel school on May 8.
If that were to occur, we would make special arrangements for activities that simply cannot be rescheduled, such as Outdoor School, AP and IB testing, athletic and activity championships, etc. We would also develop a plan for the time to be made up at the end of the year. For students in grades K-11, that would likely mean attending school for a full day on Friday, June 14, as opposed to a half day, with year-end activities like Field Day pushed to that day to preserve instructional time earlier in the month.
We continue to have collaborative conversations with HEA about the Day of Action and its impacts on the Hillsboro School District, and once we have more details to share we will do so. We anticipate having a final decision about May 8 made and communicated by Monday, April 29, at the latest.
Thank you for your support, understanding, and flexibility as we work to do what is best for our students.
Respectfully,
Mike Scott
Superintendent