Letters to the Editor, Opinion Celebrating Washougal School District’s classified employees
The Washougal School District is in the process of finalizing and adopting a five-year strategic plan, which will set our path to see our district rising to be one of the top performing school districts in the state of Washington. We aspire to make sure every student is known and successfully set on a path for the future when they leave us. Our ambition is great, and our confidence is squarely placed on the “shoulders” of our excellent staff, which includes our teachers and our classified employees.
We value and appreciate the dedication of the entire Washougal School District team of educators but would like to highlight the unique investment that our classified staff make in the lives of our children. Our classified employees, like our bus drivers, office secretaries and nutrition services staff, are oftentimes the first and the last face our students see on a school day. These folks help set the tone for success by supporting, serving, knowing, and valuing our students in a way that supports them both academically and socially.
March 11 through March 15 has been designated as “Classified Staff Appreciation” Week and how fitting that we are able to celebrate the important role that our classified staff play in helping us realize our vision for excellence and high performance. We acknowledge that without the important contribution of this group of employees, our aspiration for our students would not be fully met. The support and service provided across the district by our classified staff is impressive and valued.
The Washougal School District employs over 200 classified staff, who daily serve in our offices, lunch rooms, classrooms, warehouses, parking lots, playing fields and busses. I would like to personally thank this group of individuals for their dedication, professionalism and commitment to our school district.
Mary Templeton, Washougal School District superintendent
Washougal should consider consequences of ‘gun rights sanctuary’
Regarding “Washougal urged to be gun rights sanctuary” in the Feb. 28, 2019 Camas-Washougal Post-Record, local government officers should consider two possible consequences of adopting a policy of tolerating violations of state or federal laws regarding gun safety: I will feel less safe doing business in such a community and am more likely to spend my money where public safety is a higher concern; and, if a violent gun crime is committed by someone who should have been restricted from gun ownership, the victim will have legal recourse against both the local law officers who chose not to enforce the law and against the political leaders who established a climate of permissiveness for criminals and unstable persons to own, likely carry and maybe use firearms.
