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About Polk County itemizer observer. (Dallas, Or) 1992-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 16, 2015)
Polk County Education 16A Polk County Itemizer-Observer • December 16, 2015 Dallas school board hears policy concerns By Jolene Guzman The Itemizer-Observer JOLENE GUZMAN/ Itemizer-Observer Lyle Principal Todd Baughman speaks during the “buddy bench” dedication for late teacher Kelly Buhler. ‘She was just a blessing’ Late kindergarten teacher Kelly Buhler remembered with a ‘buddy bench’ By Jolene Guzman The Itemizer-Observer DALLAS — Kelly Buhler loved children. Her family: husband, Steve, and their children, Jacob, Jesse, Josiah and Mary, were the “apple of her eye,” said Buhler’s mother- in-law, Judy Buhler. Nearly as important was the career she turned into a calling — the education of Dallas School District’s youngest students. She spent her final five years as a teacher at Lyle Elemen- tary School. “She fits what you would think a kindergarten teacher would be: a sweet, sweet dis- position, extremely patient, extremely kind,” said Amy Aebi, Kelly’s sister-in-law. Her career was cut short by cancer. She was forced to quit working early in the 2013-14 school year and died in June 2014. “That was her life, actual- ly, kids,” said Judy Buhler. Now, in a sense, Kelly can be something at the school where kids could be kind to each other or work out prob- lems, just make connections, that totally fits her philoso- phy,” Aebi said. “What a per- fect way to memorialize her, instead of just a sign or a tree, something that has a pur- pose in the school, because that really fits with how she was as a person.” Her tenure at the school was short, but she quickly endeared herself to the school’s students and staff. Principal Todd Baughman said his son, Ethan, was in AMY AEBI /for Itemizer-Observer Buhler’s class, and he’s grate- Kelly Buhler, right, during ful for the positive influence a Relay for Life event. she had on his education. “From a parent perspec- remain with the students tive, I have esteem and ap- she so loved. preciation for Kelly that will On Friday, Lyle Elemen- last my entire lifetime and tary School dedicated a continued to pay dividends “buddy bench” to her mem- for my son,” Baughman said. ory. A buddy bench gives Ethan wasn’t alone, as students who are feeling several of her former stu- lonely or struggling in some dents attended Friday. way a place to find a com- “I remember she was re- fort and a friend. ally nice,” said former stu- “The idea that there would dent Isabella Blanchard, who is now in fourth grade. Darcy Naughton, the of- fice manager at Lyle, said even while battling her ill- ness, Buhler never forgot to be kind. Naughton said Buhler returned to school with a warm blanket and advice when she was going through chemotherapy for the first time. “I have my fuzzy blan- ket,” Naughton said on Fri- day, through tears. “I have Kelly at my house.” That kindness extended to strangers, Judy Buhler said. Kelly made a habit of going to Wal-Mart to share her faith in Jesus, some times more than once a day just so she wouldn’t miss anyone, Judy said. “She had changed so many people’s lives,” she said. Judy said the family is honored the school decided to recognize her with the buddy bench. “She was just a blessing and the kids just loved her,” she said. DALLAS — A contingent of parents and students spoke before the Dallas School Board concerned about the district’s policy that allows a transgender male (female-to-male) stu- dent use the boys locker room and bathroom. The majority of those who spoke before the crowd of approximately 70 people urged the district to change its policy. “You have to realize that giving one person that com- fort, giving that one person the ability to feel that they are accepted in that space ,can ostracize the rest of the students that have to use the same facilities and will cause them to feel they don’t want to use those facilities,” said Tony Sutton, a Dallas resi- dent and parent of students in the district, voicing the same concerns of many who spoke. “My daughter and two sons, they are concerned about this situation, and be- cause of them I’m hear speaking right now,” Sutton said. Dallas resident Micky Garus, who received atten- tion for previous comments on the the issue, urged peo- ple to attend Monday night’s board meeting. He encouraged them to speak out against the policy, posting his own statement to the “Micky Garus Dallas City Councilman” Facebook page Monday at 6 p.m., 30 min- utes before meeting was scheduled to begin. He did not attend, but his statement was read in part by someone else. The reader was stopped because the statement in- cluded personal information about a student. Students also expressed discomfort with the policy, voicing safety and privacy concerns. Some said they now feel afraid to use the locker rooms and bathrooms at the school. “It would be very uncom- fortable to have someone of the opposite sex to be in the locker room changing with me, and I’m a very confident person,” said senior Angie Sletten. Another student said if the policy remained, that stu- dents who are uncomfort- able with using the same fa- cilities should be accommo- dated. Of the approximately 20 people who spoke, only two were supportive of the poli- cy, including the student in question, Elliot Yoder. He said he wanted to ad- dress the concerns of par- ents and students at the meeting. “I see no way that I’m vio- lating anybody’s privacy,” Yoder said. “When I’m in the boys’ locker room, I never fully undress. I don’t shower with them. I don’t even look at any of them. ... I’m not in there to spy on your kids. I’m not in there for any other reason than to change in a place that is not completely separate from everybody else.” Yoder said having to change in a separate unisex facility, which he did before being allowed to use the boys’ locker room, amount- ed to “a walk of shame.” “I could see that they were labeling me as ‘other,’” he said. “I’m not an ‘it’ so why should I have to use a place that is ‘the other’ box?” School officials said the policy, or how it is enforced, was not a board-level deci- sion. That was based on case law and advice from the dis- trict’s lawyer, and legal and civil rights representatives of Oregon School Boards Asso- ciation and the Oregon De- partment of Education. See POLICY, Page 13A
