GRESHAM, Ore. — According to the Gresham-Barlow teachers union, 97% of Gresham High School staff members voted that they have no confidence in school administrators. This comes as staff told KGW that violence has risen greatly in the past two school years.
“It’s been really hard,” Kym Duncan, an employee at Gresham High School, said.
Duncan attended Gresham High School before returning to the high school as an employee. Recently, she said it’s become more difficult to work at the school.
“These can be anything from a fist fight to a knife fight,” Duncan said.
Duncan and leaders of the Gresham-Barlow teachers union said the administration is not reprimanding students for misbehavior on a consistent basis, which leads to a rise in disciplinary problems.
“It is really kind of ignoring protocols that are in place,” Matt Wallace, president of the Gresham-Barlow teachers union, said of administrators' attitudes.
Those problems have led staff to call for a change in leadership, Wallace said.
“There are real safety concerns, and staff and students are afraid,” Duncan said.
“Yeah, I see more violence,” Trace King, a junior at Gresham High School said. He added that the school is much different than it was his freshmen year.
“I don’t feel safe at this school,” added Karoton Tonga, a junior.
Instead, Tonga said he spends time outside the school building due to class disruptions.
“We have students who leave campus at lunch to go home and use the restroom because they’re afraid to use the restrooms at Gresham High School,” Duncan said.
KGW also spoke with some students who said they did not see much of a change in violence. None wanted to do an interview.
We also reached out to the school district, who declined our interview request, though in a statement, they said the safety of students and staff is Gresham-Barlow’s top priority. They acknowledged that Gresham High School has been undergoing challenging situations, like many schools nationwide, and plan to speak with the teachers union about its concerns.
A spokesperson added that the district is working with high school administration to provide support and guidance pertaining to safety concerns.
Still, some staff think there’s a disconnect between administrators and employees.
“Our building administration is under the assumption that things are getting better. We’re not seeing it,” Duncan said. “It’s going to take something bad happening for change to happen, we’re afraid.”
Along with increases in violence, staff said they plan to address the use of racial slurs toward teachers and an increase in drug dealing on school premises at Wednesday night's school board meeting.
In a statement received by KGW on May 6, the Gresham-Barlow School District addresses the safety concerns at Gresham High School:
"At the May 1 Board Business Meeting, the Gresham-Barlow Board of Directors received notice of a vote of no confidence for the Gresham High School Principal and District Administration due to ongoing safety concerns for students and staff.
We affirm our confidence in the Superintendent to urgently and effectively address student behavior and discipline concerns at Gresham High School and across the district and commit to supporting him with effective policy and resources required to establish and maintain the safe teaching and learning environments that our students, staff, and community deserve.
The Board will convene a meeting this week to receive an update of the plan of action from the Superintendent.
We want to acknowledge the engagement and advocacy of staff on this issue. We confirm the District’s commitment to create safe school environments that reflect the values and expectations of our community."