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About Cottage Grove sentinel. (Cottage Grove, Or.) 1909-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 24, 2018)
COTTAGE GROVE SENTINEL JANUARY 24, 2018 11A Parent Continued from A1 employment or any district policies. In August, an anonymous handwritten letter was given to each member of the school board citing Parent’s standing in the community and claiming that the ex-partner of the SLSD employ- ee involved with Parent was committing libelous and slanderous offenses. The same Cottage Grove resident who fi led the initial complaint, paid a reported $700 for a hand- writing analysis which concluded it was “proba- ble” Parent was the author of the letter. An unknown group of individuals wrote a let- ter to the school board requesting that Parent be placed on paid administrative leave until an inves- tigation into who wrote the letter could be com- pleted. The letter was placed on an online survey platform by South Lane Employee Association (SLEA) President Diane Hicks. “SLEA takes the allegation of the anonymous letter given to the school board in August very seriously,” the SLEA letter read. “The letter slan- ders and harasses a school district employee, and if it is indeed from our superintendent, then this would become a very serious legal matter.” 115 out of 153 SLEA members responded to the survey requesting permission to forward the letter to the school board. 110 approved the letter. A second letter was sent to the district by 13 ad- ministrators asking that the initial SLEA letter be considered and a “no-confi dence” vote emerged shortly after from nearly 80 percent of the classi- fi ed employees polled. “… I did not write that anonymous letter nor did I distribute the letter to the school board,” Parent said in a statement to the Sentinel. “Regardless of who authored the letter, the letter was never considered or acted upon by the board. The board never considers anonymous letters and threw the letter away.” After an executive session held on Tuesday, Jan. 16, South Lane School Board Chair Alan Baas an- nounced that Parent would retire from the district in June. Just minutes prior to the executive ses- sion, the board received a fourth complaint from the law fi rm Reitmann and Reitmann on behalf of four unidentifi ed school administrators claiming Parent had threatened them with retaliation for “having expressed reasonable concern regarding superintendent Parent’s conduct through appro- priate channels.” The complaint was offi cial dropped on Friday. In the district’s recommendation letter of Par- ent, it states that she was “instrumental” in pass- ing a $27 million bond in 2010 to build the new high school, a $36 million bond in 2016 to fund a new elementary school as well as update the community pool and technology throughout the district and that she “systematically led” the aca- demic turn around at Cottage Grove High School. “Three years ago, CGHS had the top high school for graduation rate in the state and has been in the top 10 for the past two years. In the late ‘90s, CGHS had years of double-digit drop-out rates, now it’s at one percent or lower.” The letter also cites Parent's awards including her 2007 recognition as National Superintendent of the Year. “This award brought recognition to the work she had doing to serve the students of South Lane for many years,” the letter reads. “South Lane School District is in a better place as a result of her leadership.” After Parent’s retirement was announced on Jan. 16, Parent went on the record with the Sen- tinel stating in part, “First and foremost I want to apologize for the distraction that my personal de- cisions have made for the district. The work of the district is important and challenging and the re- peated attacks on me and my personal life and the events of the last nine months have been extreme- ly stressful. I have spent 33 years (the majority of Suspect shot in car theft attempt Cottage Grove Police assist county law enforcement On Jan. 15, the Lane County Sheriff’s Offi ce received a re- port of a stolen vehicle (white, Honda Accord) at the 500 block of Clairmont Drive in the River Road area of Eugene. A Lane County Sheriff’s Deputy re- sponded to the area at approx- imately 4:51 pm and observed two occupants in the vehicle. As the deputy approached the vehicle the male driver exited the car and was uncooperative with the deputy. The driver, who was in possession of a fi rearm, was shot by the depu- ty and subsequently transported to the hospital for medical at- tention. The male, who is not being identifi ed pending next of kin notifi cation, was later pro- nounced deceased. None of the responding deputies or offi cers reported any injuries in connec- tion with this incident. The second occupant of the vehicle is a male who has been identifi ed by Lane County Inter- agency Deadly Force Investiga- tion Team (IDFIT) investigators and has been contacted by law enforcement. The details of this incident are being investigated by ID- FIT, which is comprised of law enforcement offi cers from mul- tiple agencies who are tasked with investigating deadly force events in Lane County. my life) in South Lane School District to make this the best district anywhere. I hope my body of work over more than three decades speaks for itself. I have walked the talk daily of making Kids Come First! It is clear from the events of the last week that my personal decisions and the repeated attacks have eroded the staff’s faith in my leadership. The attacks have been calculated, and as soon as the board and I defend one attack, there is another attack waiting to be launched. I have repeatedly shared the harassment that I have received with the board. I do not wish to hurt the district, nor the good people in the district, therefore I am foregoing the remaining two years on my contract and retiring from South Lane School District effective July 1, 2018. I will be working with the board to deter- mine the projects I work on over the next several months… I wish the South Lane School District the best always and I am proud of what we have accom- plished together.” Assistant superintendent Kyle Tucker will act as interim superintendent while the board search- es for Parent’s replacement. Measure 101 results set for Tuesday The special election to determine whether or not to implement a 0.7 percent provider tax on hospitals and a 1.5 percent tax on health insurance providers took place yesterday, Jan. 23. Results were ex- pected Tuesday night. The vote would determine whether House Bill 2391 would stand and fund a Medicaid expansion. A 'no' vote would repeal sections of the bill and approximately 300,000 Oregonians may lose their health coverage. CORRECTION: Melissa Raade was misidentifi ed as Dacia Marsh in the above photo that ran in the Jan. 17 edition of The Sentinel. Both women volunteer their time at Bohemia Elementary School, helping children learn to read. 119 South 6th St. • CG • 541-942-0505 Valentine’s Day, Tuesday, February 14 Order Early for Best Selection of Quality Flowers for your Special Valentine! OPEN SUNDAY 9-1 Beautiful Rose Arrangements Creative Floral Arrangements Unique Selection of Fine Gifts & Clothing Festive Balloon Bouquets Candy Basket of Fine Chocolates Blooming Plants & Basket Gardens Valentine’s Day Greeting Cards Call or Come By for our In-store Specials! • Locally owned and operated since 1984 • Quality and Satifaction Guaranteed • Delivery in South Lane County Get a little closer this Valentines Day with a new loveseat. Prices starting at $329. 15 in stock. 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