The Sunday Edition of the Gazette-Times and Albany Democrat-Herald picked up Jennifer Moody's kindergarten story.
Here are the links in the Corvallis Gazette-Times and in the Albany Democrat-Herald (the article is the same):
Sunday, June 10, 2007
Friday, June 8, 2007
Response to Superintendent Tarzian
The following email was sent today to the District Offices in response to the letter received yesterday from Superintendent Dawn Tarzian:
Superintendent Tarzian,
Thank you for your letter regarding the School Board hearing scheduled for June 11, 2007. We have already notified the School District offices that we agree to the postponement of the hearing. We acknowledge that the ruling by the Attorney General will likely supersede any decision by the board.
We also acknowledge that the issue regarding the "right of children of 'low-income families' to attend without tuition any kindergarten program offered beyond half time" (quoted from your letter) has not been addressed by either you or your staff at any point in this process. It is for this very reason that we have continued to escalate our appeals.
As early as March 7th, in an email to Kathy Rodeman, we indicated that this was a major issue. This was one of three concerns that we discussed with you face to face on March 19th. In each case, we cited the exact statute in Oregon Law that appears to be violated. Throughout this entire process, we have been assured that the District attorneys were certain that District 509J was within the laws in their application of the kindergarten program.
In that light, it was with great frustration that we received yesterday's letter. We have been given the impression that District attorneys have been familiar with these issues for no less than three full months. We are very disappointed that they have come to this realization only four days prior to a scheduled hearing, as any earlier notification would have possibly given us the opportunity to keep our appointed hearing date.
We are confident in our interpretation of the law regarding this issue, and anxiously await the ruling from the Attorney General's Office.
We apologize to the members of the Corvallis School Board for postponing Monday's scheduled hearing, and acknowledge the valuable time they spend serving our community. We regret any inconveniences this may have caused, but unfortunately do not feel that the District offices have given us any other viable choices at this time.
We appeal to the Attorney General that this issue be addressed in a timely manner, so that any necessary changes to District policy may be implemented in time for the coming school year.
Ronald and Denise Bjarnason
Corvallis, OR
The preceding letter to Dawn Tarzian, Superintendent of Corvallis School District 509J is intended to be sent to the following persons:
Superintendent Dawn Tarzian
All members (present an incoming) of the Corvallis School Board
The Oregon Department of Education
The Office of the Attorney General of the State of Oregon
This email has also been copied to Russ Sweet at the Oregon Department of Education, Jennifer Moody with the Albany Democrat-Herald and reproduced at http://corvalliskindergarten.blogspot.com.
Superintendent Tarzian,
Thank you for your letter regarding the School Board hearing scheduled for June 11, 2007. We have already notified the School District offices that we agree to the postponement of the hearing. We acknowledge that the ruling by the Attorney General will likely supersede any decision by the board.
We also acknowledge that the issue regarding the "right of children of 'low-income families' to attend without tuition any kindergarten program offered beyond half time" (quoted from your letter) has not been addressed by either you or your staff at any point in this process. It is for this very reason that we have continued to escalate our appeals.
As early as March 7th, in an email to Kathy Rodeman, we indicated that this was a major issue. This was one of three concerns that we discussed with you face to face on March 19th. In each case, we cited the exact statute in Oregon Law that appears to be violated. Throughout this entire process, we have been assured that the District attorneys were certain that District 509J was within the laws in their application of the kindergarten program.
In that light, it was with great frustration that we received yesterday's letter. We have been given the impression that District attorneys have been familiar with these issues for no less than three full months. We are very disappointed that they have come to this realization only four days prior to a scheduled hearing, as any earlier notification would have possibly given us the opportunity to keep our appointed hearing date.
We are confident in our interpretation of the law regarding this issue, and anxiously await the ruling from the Attorney General's Office.
We apologize to the members of the Corvallis School Board for postponing Monday's scheduled hearing, and acknowledge the valuable time they spend serving our community. We regret any inconveniences this may have caused, but unfortunately do not feel that the District offices have given us any other viable choices at this time.
We appeal to the Attorney General that this issue be addressed in a timely manner, so that any necessary changes to District policy may be implemented in time for the coming school year.
Ronald and Denise Bjarnason
Corvallis, OR
The preceding letter to Dawn Tarzian, Superintendent of Corvallis School District 509J is intended to be sent to the following persons:
Superintendent Dawn Tarzian
All members (present an incoming) of the Corvallis School Board
The Oregon Department of Education
The Office of the Attorney General of the State of Oregon
This email has also been copied to Russ Sweet at the Oregon Department of Education, Jennifer Moody with the Albany Democrat-Herald and reproduced at http://corvalliskindergarten.blogspot.com.
Thursday, June 7, 2007
Emails from Jennifer Moody
Jennifer Moody, a reporter for a newspaper serving our neighboring cities of Albany and Lebanon, is writing a piece on some kindergarten issues they are having in Linn County, and wanted to reference the discussions we are having here in Corvallis.
Yesterday morning, we received this email from her:
Hi, Bjarnason family, this is Jennifer Moody from the Democrat-Herald. ... . I'm finally working on my own kindergarten story. Can you update me on your situation since this e-mail, and help me summarize the issues you and other Corvallis families face?
Many thanks,
Jennifer
I responded with the following:
Wonderful!!
It looks like the only thing you are missing is that we are going to have
the school board hearing this coming Monday, June 11th at 9am at the
District Offices. The district is required to hold a hearing within 20
days of receiving the complaint. Denise and I waived this requirement
because we couldn't find a good date (for our family as well as the school
board) to have it within the 20 days.
I've been good about keeping the blog updated
( http://corvalliskindergarten.blogspot.com/). Almost all of the
communications (emails and letters) can be found there if you want to see
exactly what's been said.
Not included in the blog is a series of emails between myself and Julie
Catala in which I inquired regarding the format of the meeting. In that
email, she indicated that this was being considered a personal complaint
against Superintendent Tarzian. This is dissapointing [sic] in two regards:
1. Because it's classified as a personal complaint, the hearing is closed
to the public (Julie indicated that there would limited access to the
press as well. How limited? I don't know.) I would prefer the hearing
be open to the public.
2. Superintendent Tarzian is the only person we have met with that we felt
has taken us seriously and not just tried to push us on to someone else.
We were treated very professionally, and have only good things to report
about our meeting with her. We are disappointed that this will be
considered a complaint against her, when our real complaint is against the
standing District 509J policy.
Other than that, we're preparing for the hearing on Monday, and anxious to
hear what the board has to say.
We appreciate your work.
Ronald Bjarnason
To which she responded (still yesterday):
Can I reach one or both of you by phone today or in the next day or two? The blog is wonderful for reference, but I'd love to just have a quick recap, or short summary, of your situation in your own words for the moving-forward part. Thanks so much!
Jennifer Moody
Democrat-Herald
I just called her on her cell phone. We talked for a while, and it looks like the article is going to be running this Sunday.
Yesterday morning, we received this email from her:
Hi, Bjarnason family, this is Jennifer Moody from the Democrat-Herald. ... . I'm finally working on my own kindergarten story. Can you update me on your situation since this e-mail, and help me summarize the issues you and other Corvallis families face?
Many thanks,
Jennifer
I responded with the following:
Wonderful!!
It looks like the only thing you are missing is that we are going to have
the school board hearing this coming Monday, June 11th at 9am at the
District Offices. The district is required to hold a hearing within 20
days of receiving the complaint. Denise and I waived this requirement
because we couldn't find a good date (for our family as well as the school
board) to have it within the 20 days.
I've been good about keeping the blog updated
( http://corvalliskindergarten.blogspot.com/). Almost all of the
communications (emails and letters) can be found there if you want to see
exactly what's been said.
Not included in the blog is a series of emails between myself and Julie
Catala in which I inquired regarding the format of the meeting. In that
email, she indicated that this was being considered a personal complaint
against Superintendent Tarzian. This is dissapointing [sic] in two regards:
1. Because it's classified as a personal complaint, the hearing is closed
to the public (Julie indicated that there would limited access to the
press as well. How limited? I don't know.) I would prefer the hearing
be open to the public.
2. Superintendent Tarzian is the only person we have met with that we felt
has taken us seriously and not just tried to push us on to someone else.
We were treated very professionally, and have only good things to report
about our meeting with her. We are disappointed that this will be
considered a complaint against her, when our real complaint is against the
standing District 509J policy.
Other than that, we're preparing for the hearing on Monday, and anxious to
hear what the board has to say.
We appreciate your work.
Ronald Bjarnason
To which she responded (still yesterday):
Can I reach one or both of you by phone today or in the next day or two? The blog is wonderful for reference, but I'd love to just have a quick recap, or short summary, of your situation in your own words for the moving-forward part. Thanks so much!
Jennifer Moody
Democrat-Herald
I just called her on her cell phone. We talked for a while, and it looks like the article is going to be running this Sunday.
Hearing Postponed
This morning we received a message on our answering machine and an email in my inbox from Julie Catala at the District 509J offices.
The message on the machine said the email was coming, had a sense of urgency, and requested that I call her as soon as a could. The email contained a .pdf copy of a letter from Superintendent Tarzian (which went in the mail this morning). The original can be found here. Following is a transcription of the actual document:
June 6, 2007
Ronald and Denise Bjarnason
(address omitted on blog post)
Corvallis, OR 97333
Dear Ron and Denise:
While my staff and I worked with the district's attorney to prepare for the upcoming appeal hearing with the School Board, we realized that one of the issues you raised had not yet been addressed. That issue involved the right of children of "low-income families" to attend without tuition any kindergarten program offered beyond half time. We contacted the Oregon Department of Education (ODE) to seek guidance. ODE staff realized they were unsure how to interpret the laws and requested a legal opinion from the State Attorney General's Office.
I am committed to ensuring that we have examined and commented on every aspect of your complaint, which is what the School Board expects. I am, therefore, requesting that your appeal hearing scheduled for June 11, 2007 be postponed until after the Attorney General's Office has rendered an opinion. Even though it might take a couple of months, we will remain in contact with the staff there and will be in contact with you after receiving the opinion.
Sincerely,
Dawn Tarzian
Superintendent
DT:jc
I called Julie, and indicated that we realize that the point of having a hearing is so that a vote can be held, and that it's pointless to hold a vote while we are waiting for the Attorney General's Office to issue a ruling. Because of this, we agree to the postponement of the hearing.
I also was very clear to Julie that we are frustrated that we are getting this letter at this point in the process. We feel we have been very clear in explaining each of our issues, and it is because this particular issue has not been addressed that we have continued to escalate the issue. It is not fair that we receive this letter only 4 days prior to the actual hearing date.
I indicated to Julie that I would be preparing a response to this letter, and that I would like the response to be sent to the following people:
Superintendent Dawn Tarzian
All School Board members (sitting and incoming)
the Oregon Department of Education
the Attorney General's Office
I indicated that I'll be preparing my response today and will get it to her tomorrow.
The message on the machine said the email was coming, had a sense of urgency, and requested that I call her as soon as a could. The email contained a .pdf copy of a letter from Superintendent Tarzian (which went in the mail this morning). The original can be found here. Following is a transcription of the actual document:
June 6, 2007
Ronald and Denise Bjarnason
(address omitted on blog post)
Corvallis, OR 97333
Dear Ron and Denise:
While my staff and I worked with the district's attorney to prepare for the upcoming appeal hearing with the School Board, we realized that one of the issues you raised had not yet been addressed. That issue involved the right of children of "low-income families" to attend without tuition any kindergarten program offered beyond half time. We contacted the Oregon Department of Education (ODE) to seek guidance. ODE staff realized they were unsure how to interpret the laws and requested a legal opinion from the State Attorney General's Office.
I am committed to ensuring that we have examined and commented on every aspect of your complaint, which is what the School Board expects. I am, therefore, requesting that your appeal hearing scheduled for June 11, 2007 be postponed until after the Attorney General's Office has rendered an opinion. Even though it might take a couple of months, we will remain in contact with the staff there and will be in contact with you after receiving the opinion.
Sincerely,
Dawn Tarzian
Superintendent
DT:jc
I called Julie, and indicated that we realize that the point of having a hearing is so that a vote can be held, and that it's pointless to hold a vote while we are waiting for the Attorney General's Office to issue a ruling. Because of this, we agree to the postponement of the hearing.
I also was very clear to Julie that we are frustrated that we are getting this letter at this point in the process. We feel we have been very clear in explaining each of our issues, and it is because this particular issue has not been addressed that we have continued to escalate the issue. It is not fair that we receive this letter only 4 days prior to the actual hearing date.
I indicated to Julie that I would be preparing a response to this letter, and that I would like the response to be sent to the following people:
Superintendent Dawn Tarzian
All School Board members (sitting and incoming)
the Oregon Department of Education
the Attorney General's Office
I indicated that I'll be preparing my response today and will get it to her tomorrow.
Wednesday, June 6, 2007
Kindergarten Article
Here is an interesting article on the New York Times (free registration required) on parents holding their kindergarten children back a year.
It's not directly relevant to the Corvallis School District issue, but it's an interesting read nonetheless.
It's not directly relevant to the Corvallis School District issue, but it's an interesting read nonetheless.
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