The Oakridge Teacher Association, the union representing about 30 teachers and staff members, has endorsed August Reed, Charlie Ross and Stacy Tindall in the forthcoming school board election.
The endorsements are posted on the website of the union’s state organization, the Oregon Education Association.
Tinamarie Standley, an Oakridge Elementary School teacher and a member of the union bargaining unit, said all six candidates for board positions in the May 18 election were invited to interview with the OTA, and only three — those who consented to interviews — were endorsed as “the candidates they felt would best represent the teachers.”
All three of the candidates who were interviewed and endorsed have voiced criticism of the performance of Supt. Reta Doland, subject of a no-confidence vote by the OTA last December. The trio’s opponents — Susan Hardy, Clem Pope and Lisa Samuelson — have either expressed support for Doland or remained neutral on the subject.
All registered voters should have received their mail-in ballots by now. Lane County elections officials recommend returning completed and signed ballots by mail no later than Tuesday, May 11.
