Open Letter to the San Juan Island School District Community

We live in a truly remarkable community of concerned citizens who are passionate about the quality of our children’s education.

We are passionate about ensuring opportunities for our children to succeed academically in their schools. We all appreciate and understand that success in life begins with a good education.

 We are a community of shared interest with a commitment and dedication to our schools and our children’s education. It is with this shared interest that we come together to resolve the current educational crisis.

This crisis is the termination of our elementary school principal, Gary Pflueger.

Gary Pflueger has demonstrated his superior leadership and management skills, his hard work and passion for the success of our students as well as his dedication to professional excellence.

All of these qualities must have been apparent to our school board when Mr. Pflueger was offered the position and we as the community have greatly benefited from that decision. It is truly significant that Gary Pflueger has the enthusiastic support of his faculty and the enthusiastic support of his staff.

But, most importantly, Gary Pflueger has the enthusiastic support, respect and also the love of his students.

This confluence of educational atmosphere and social goodness is a remarkable achievement of Gary Pflueger. This is not accidental; it is recognized by the community, the faculty, the staff and the students and now needs to be recognized by our School Board.

We recognize that there are concerns, but in the light of Gary Pflueger’s remarkable leadership and management skills, we suspect that our School Board is focused only on an administrative task or reporting procedure.

If this is the situation, we as members of the educational community will concentrate all of our efforts to remedy this occurrence. However, there is another issue that needs to be addressed in addition to Gary Pflueger, it is also our School Board’s unwillingness to seriously consider the overwhelming community support and disappointment.

Fundamentally, this is our School Board and they cannot be allowed to detach themselves from legitimate community concerns.

We are unwilling to accept the departure of our principal who has served our students and our community with such distinction and who has the adoration of students and faculty.

We will genuinely work with our school board to achieve a common ground of understanding, identification of educational and professional expectations and mutual satisfaction of shared interest.

We expect that our School Board will receive this offer with the enthusiasm with which it is generated.

Rest assured should this shared interest not be reciprocated by our School Board, we will pursue all available courses of action.

Respectfully,

Bridgette Altena, Director Stepping Stones

Daryl Andrews, Father of Two FHES Students

Kerry Andrews, Mother of Two FHES students

Joann Ashlock, Former Educator and College Administrator

Steve Ashlock, Former Educator and Attorney

Adam Ayers, Parent

Kristy Ayers, Parent

Tito Bayas, Father of Three

Anne Benedict, Retired Teacher, Grandmother of FHES student

Jenny Benedict, Private Investigator, Mother of Two

Rick Benedict, Retired Teacher, Grandfather of FHES student

Colleen Bennett, Concerned Community Member

Andrea Berlatsky

Anita Blaine, Concerned Citizen

Christopher Blaine, Concerned Citizen

Adrienne Bourne, A Parent Who is Concerned that the Board does not Act in a Fair or Legal Way.

Floyd Bourne

Sandy Buckley, Community Member

Tom Bullock

Heather Cain, Island Resident

Alexis Carter, Mother of Three, Two of which are currently students at FHES

Andrea Champlin

Kenny Christison, Parent, Business Owner, Community Volunteer

Jeff Clark

Linda Degnan Cobos, Fellow Community Member

Richard Coffey

Teresa DeGraaffi, K-12 Substitute Teacher

Jennifer DeShon, FHES PTA Board Member

Bonnie Davis, Citizen

Alice Deane, Interested Citizen of San Juan Island

Teddy Deane

Angela deGavre

Robert T. deGavre

Lawrence Curt Delay

Tami Doenges, Mother of FHES student

Tom Doenges, Father of FHES student

Carol Duke, Ret. Teacher, Grandmother of 2 FHES Students, Mother of 2 Public School Teachers

Lisa Duke, Parent

Ron Duke, Ret. H.S. Soccer Coach, Grandfather of 2 FHES Students, Father of 2 Public School Teachers

Bill Eager

Claire Eager

Darlene Eames, Concerned Member of the Community

R. Alden Reeves Edwards

Shawn Yvette Ellis, Parent of FHES 4th Grader

Brad Fincher

Debbi Fincher

Jen Flemming

Mark Flemming

Anna Frampton

Natasha Frey, Parent of FHES Student and Classroom Volunteer

Jennifer Beck Furber, Mother of Three, School Volunteer, PTA Member

Kent Gale, Community Member

Tawny Garcia, Parent

Lorin Geiser, Friday Harbor Business Owner

Mikayla Geiser, Friday Harbor Business Owner

Sharon Grace, Attorney and Grandmother of FHES student

Lisa Hamlette, Paraeducator (4 years)

Duffy Harley, Parent and Citizen

David Harold, Parent of Two Students at FHES

Irene C. Haskew, M.Ed., M.A., SJI Resident, Grandmother of FHES Student and Future FHES Student

Penelope Haskew, Mother of FHES Student and 1 future FHES Student

Alice Rose Hibberd, Sub. Teacher FHES, Dance Instructor, 4-H Challenge Facilitator

Nancy Hieronymus, Grandmother and Reading Buddy

Diane Kinnaman Hollis, Mother of Two FHES Students

Jay Ibold, Supporting Remedy to Discontent but not Board Dismissal

Marc Islam

Jamie Iverson, Parent of Kindergarten Student

Barbara Jensen

John Jensen

Jennifer Kaden

Boo Boo Keane

Dean Kenny, Owner San Juan Plumbing

Terry D. Kruth, Retired Educator

Theodore R. Kruth, P.E.

Claudia LaCava, Concerned Citizen

Nina LeBaron, Architect and Parent

Jeanette Logan, Mother of FHMS Student

Barbara Lord, Mother of 2 FHES Students

Jeremiah Lord, Father of 2 FHES Students

Joy Lord, Grandmother of 2 FHES Students, B.A. in Elementary Education

Matt Marinkovich, Father of 3 in SJISD, President Fish for Teeth, Local Business Owner

Maureen Marinkovich, Parent

Stephanie Mattox, Concerned Parent of 2nd and 4th grade FHES Students, Substitute Librarian

Rich Mattox, Concerned Parent of 2nd and 4th grade FHES Students

Kevin Mattson, Father

Susan Mazzarella

Callie McKay, Parent

Ann Templeton Monin, M.S. Special Education

Noel Monin, Concerned Parent

Angie Morrison, Resident of SJI for 37 years

Geneva Mottet, College Student, 4-H Leader, Volunteer at FHES

Iskandar Must, Parent of 2 FHES Students

Thomas S. Odegard, Water Operations Island Wide Fire Department, Investor

Michael Otis, Father of 4, Island citizen of 38 years, Attended SJI public schools 2nd-12th Grade

Julie Packard

Midge Paterson, Retired elementary teacher of 25 years

Kris Phillips, Office Manager

Rebecca Phillips, LPN and Mom

Nicholas E.D. Power, Father of one FHES student and one future FHES student, Attorney

Stacey Prentice, Mother

Chris Raichlen, Concerned Parent of Two

Nancy Raichlen, Concerned Citizen

Steve Raichlen, Concerned Citizen

Jeff Rathburn, Parent of FHES Student

Kim Rathburn, Harbor Veterinary Services, Office Manager

Sandy Richard

John Richardson, Father

Kristi Richardson, Mother

Kathryn Ross, Community Member and Former Middle School Teacher

Lori L. Ronhaar

Celia Roth, Life-Long Islander, Age 13

Kevin Roth, Father of Three, Friday Harbor Resident for 33 Years

Lorena Ryan, Friday Harbor Resident and Grandmother of FHES Student

Steven Ryan, Father of FHES Student

Laura Jo Severson

John Shaller, Concerned Parent

Mary Mead Smith, SJISD Substitute Teacher

Robert L. “Smithy” Smith

Jean Staben, R.N. and Mother of FHES Student

Craig Staude, Ph.D

Jerry St. Dennis, Interested Resident of San Juan Island

Deborah Strasser, Mother of Five

Robert Strasser

Doris M. Sumner

Thomas Swan, Parent of a Kindergarten Student

Mike Taylor, Parent

Regan Taylor, Mother of 2 Who Would Love to Find a Solution

Myah Thompson, Parent, Community Member, Preschool Teacher

Diane Undeberg, Mother of FHES 4th Grade and FHES Kindergarten Student

Juan Pablo Tobon Velilla

Becky Volk, Parent of Two FHES Students

Gidget Walters, Parent of an incredible 1st Grader

Robert Walters, Parent of an incredible 1st Grader

Rita R. Weisbrod

Susan D. Williamson, Paraeducator FHES

Tanja Williamson, But Does Not Support Recall

Chris Wisniewski

Janet Wright, Former Teacher in SJISD for over 28 years, Taxpayer and Voter

Richard Wright, Former Teacher in SJISD for over 20 years

Amy J.H. Wynn, Parent and Concerned Community Member

NAME WITHHELD #1, FHES Staff

NAME WITHHELD #2, FHES Staff

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NAME WITHHELD #10, Construction Worker