July 11, 2007

Dear South Lane School District Board Members and Superintendent Parent,

I want to start by thanking those of you who supported continuing to
work with Blue Mountain.  Although you may all feel Blue Mountain has
occupied an inordinate amount of district time (and your time) we feel
that this is a symptom of the problems we've described of being unable
to work collegially with the district.

The last month's events epitomize this perfectly.  At the June 4 board
meeting, we were left with the impression that our job was to address
the concerns of district staff and board members.  At that meeting, we
expressed our fear that without feedback from district staff and board
members it is difficult for us to know if we are addressing those
concerns.  We were assured by Krista Parent that she would work with
us and serve as a liaison with the school board.  We were also
instructed not to contact board members directly.

We proceeded in good faith.  In the intervening month, we received
only positive feedback from district staff (namely Krista Parent) and
no feedback at all from the school board.  In other words, the four of
you who voted to end Blue Mountain's contract have been unwilling to
give us feedback about what we can do to allay your concerns, or to
take seriously our attempts to address those concerns and tell us
where they are failing.  Superintendent Parent, during the month we
have worked with her, did not warn us that we were not addressing her
concerns either, or suggest ways we could address those concerns.

On Monday, with no warning on the agenda that Blue Mountain's contract
might be terminated, we were subjected to attacks from board members,
with offered no opportunity to speak on our behalf, and a motion to
terminate our contract was passed after a very limited debate (which,
was closed in a procedural power play).  Is this really the way the
South Lane School Board thinks business should be conducted?  Frankly
it seems sorely lacking in fairness and in due process.

The main legitimate concern raised at Monday's meeting was Blue
Mountain's ability to prove it provides a "comprehensive education" to
its students.  This was not one of the concerns that Blue Mountain was
asked to address on June 4th, nor was it raised in the intervening
month. Furthermore in an environment in which (both statewide and in
Cottage Grove) only about 50% of high school students can meet state
mathematics standards, it establishes a double standard, holding
charter schools to higher standards than public schools.
Nevertheless, we are interested in pursuing means to demonstrate that
we provide a suitable instructional program.  We don't think that this
should mean demonstrating something the district cannot demonstrate
for its own schools.


As far as the attacks we were subjected to (with no opportunity to
address), I wish to make three specific responses.

One of you referred to the idea of measuring the success of former
students to demonstrate the effectiveness of Blue Mountain's
educational program as "laughable." To dismiss this as laughable is to
confuse outcomes with process.  The goal of our school system is to
prepare our students for what follows.  The measure of our success is
not how many hours students spend in front of a teacher, but how well
they do when they leave our schools.

Others of you referred to money spent on Blue Mountain significantly
less per pupil than district schools) as a "waste." This is a personal
slap in the face to the hundreds of families whose children have
received the benefits Blue Mountain has to offer.

One school board member said words to the effect that Blue Mountain
was not his way.  You are elected to serve _all_ students in the
district.  No one is forcing students to choose Blue Mountain, and the
families that make those choices are also your constituents.
Furthermore, there is no reckoning by which Blue Mountain students
consume more than their fair share of educational resources in the
community.


While Blue Mountain's educational model is unorthodox, it works well
for the families that choose it, and provides a valuable choice in the
South Lane district.  School Board members and district staff may be
uncomfortable with Blue Mountain's model, but this does not excuse
them from their obligation as public officials to treat Blue Mountain
and its students fairly.

  yours, Hal Sadofsky