We are concerned citizens of the North Slope. We are Parents, Grandparents, Aunts and Uncles of children going to the NSBSD. We are community members, employees and educators who have a duty to our children and students. We are respectfully requesting the Board of the NSBSD to remove the current Superintendent of the NSBSD.
We believe that for some time now, under the direction of the current Superintendent, the NSBSD Administration has lost its way.
Under the direction of the current Superintendent, we believe the Administration has:
- failed to communicate openly with the public or their own staff.
- held multiple close-door administration sessions with the Board.
- introduced curriculum that ignores Inupiaq people and their history and celebrates those who harmed or tried to assimilate Native people across our nation.
- removed senior and highly respected Inupiaq staff without reasons given or consultation with our community.
- instructed Board members not to speak with staff who can tell them what is happening on the ground.
- failed for months to resolve contracts with teachers while at the same time granting pay rises to Administration staff and Principals.
- taken steps to abolish the Inupiat Education Department which has been revitalizing and reinvigorating education for Inupiaq children for over a decade.
We do not believe this Superintendent can lead our District in the way that best serves the cultural, spiritual, emotional and educational needs of our children.
These are our children. This is our education system. We respectfully request the Board of the NSBSD to remove the current Superintendent.
Thank you in advance for your attention to this matter and your response to our concerns.
