This story will be updated after the board meeting ends.
Two pressing community issues are expected to come to a head at Tuesday night's Salem-Keizer School Board meeting.
Members of the board will begin the evening discussing the latest information from the Oregon Department of Education regarding reopening schools. They'll learn more about the district's reentry plans and how they fit into the state's updated Ready Schools, Safe Learners guidance.
Salem-Keizer Public Schools Superintendent Christy Perry announced late last month that students will begin the first nine weeks — at least — of the upcoming school year using comprehensive distance learning only and have no in-person instruction.
Q&A: What Oregon parents should know about the return to school during COVID-19
But figuring out what school will look like next year not only relates to COVID-19.
For the past few months, a few hundred students, teachers and community members have continuously called for certain school board members to resign following alleged racist actions or ties to white supremacy groups, and they are demanding leadership address white supremacy throughout the district.
This conversation has largely centered around school resource officers.
Some argue these police officers are vital assets in keeping schools safe.
But others, including youth activists with Latinos Unidos Siempre, argue they are a key factor in the school-to-prison pipeline that disproportionately puts students of color, students from low-income families and students with disabilities into juvenile detention and the greater criminal justice system.
The school board promised the community they'd make a decision by the end of August on whether to continue contracts with Salem, Keizer and Marion county law enforcement agencies.
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Salem Police Department already announced they will pull the agency's contracts. Keizer and Marion county said they are waiting to see what decision the board makes.
Activists with Latinos Unidos Siempre argue the board is taking too much time. A few dozen protesters gathered at the district's main administrative office on Lancaster Drive NE in Salem on Monday, Aug. 3 to demonstrate.
They used chalk to color messages on the building and its parking lot. Messages included, "SROs have got to go," "Hire more teachers of color" and "No KKK No Fascist SK."
Protesters argued the district does not listen to the youth enough, especially students of color.
They said they are planning a student strike for when school restarts if the resource officer contracts have not been terminated.
Activists have circulated different petitions calling on the resignation of at least members Paul Kyllo and Marty Heyen, with some also calling for the resignations of Satya Chandragiri and Kathy Goss.
Kyllo's call for resignation comes from him using a black, former Portland Trailblazer's face cutout as a prop in a virtual board meeting.
Heyen has been accused of being connected with different white supremacy groups, though she denies any ties.
Both Kyllo and Heyen have previously said they have no intention to resign. Heyen was reelected for a four-year term in 2019. Kyllo's term ends in 2021.
Backstory: Petition grows for Heyen, Kyllo to resign from the school board
Chandragiri is being called out for not speaking up against these grievances and having campaigned with Heyen. He was recently elected the board's newest chairman.
And Goss' accusations stem from comments she made in a May budget committee meeting, saying the school district spends too much money feeding families and that families take advantage of it.
Public comment will be taken for both agenda and non-agenda items in Tuesday's meeting.
Natalie Pate is the education reporter for the Statesman Journal. She can be reached at npate@StatesmanJournal.com, 503-399-6745, Twitter @Nataliempate or Facebook at https://ift.tt/22QBVib.
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