TUALATIN, Ore. — Leadership in the Tigard-Tualatin School District is pushing back after recent claims that schools have seen an uptick in violence.
At a Monday school board meeting, Tigard-Tualatin staff also presented a revised punishment policy, outlining consequences students could face for misbehavior. This comes after some parents called for the superintendent to resign over an uptick in misbehavior.
"I want to be clear: I, for one, will not vote to remove our superintendent from her position, and I would be loath to accept her resignation," Tigard-Tualatin School Board Member Jill Zurschmeide said.
Over the past few months, the Tigard-Tualatin School District has faced a number of challenges. This past fall, a bomb threat forced an evacuation at Hazelbrook Middle School. In another incident, a viral video showed a Tualatin student attack other kids in the hallway.
In December, parents told KGW that classes were disruptive and unsafe for students. At the time, they called on Superintendent Susan Rieke-Smith to resign.
"Half of the day is filled with kind of chaos," said Annie Bartelamia, a parent of a second grader in the district.
But school board members said disruptions are on the rise nationwide, not specifically within the district.
"While it is true that TTSD schools have seen an increase in violence, aggression and disruptive behavior, it is absolutely false that we have experienced more than our neighboring districts," Zurschmeide said.
The Oregon Department of Education backs up Zurschmeide’s claim. The state tracks the number of disruptions in classrooms statewide. In the most recent data, the 2021-22 school year, the number of disruptions is close to what the state saw in 2018-19, the last year before the pandemic.
Tigard-Tualatin is working to counter disruptions by adding staff at schools with frequent issues, Zurschmeide said.
At Durham Elementary School, Zurschmeide said recent data showed their plan is working.
"Our latest numbers from Durham show that incidents of student aggression are down," Zurschmeide said.
In the most recent board meeting, staff also presented a system to punish students for fights or other disruptions. Punishments ranged from students being reprimanded by teachers for misbehaviors, like cheating, to expulsion for assault.
In the school board meeting, Zurschmeide said recent news reports about fighting and other disruptions in Tigard-Tualatin schools have been overblown.
"The news has a responsibility to get the facts right without sensationalizing a story or contributing to public anxiety," Zurschmeide said.
The school district has denied KGW’s repeated interview requests.
Parents told KGW that while they’re grateful there is a new enforcement policy in place, it’s not enough.
"I feel like everybody's trying to create a policy or a handbook,” Bartelamia said. “And it takes months and years to do that. And there's no actual effective change happening."
Other parents said students should know what punishments they could face for misbehavior.
"Knowing that there are consequences to severe behaviors, that's a deterrent," said parent Victoria King.
The school district said the new policy will be implemented in February, though teachers who preferred to stay anonymous told KGW they’re concerned if there will be any change under the new policy. Some haven’t seen the new policy yet either, they said.
Despite complaints, in a statement the school board said Rieke-Smith is the right person for the job, pointing to a rise in recent math and reading test scores.