Board should expedite principal investigation

I taught in the Sequim School District from 1984-2016. The last 14 years of my career I taught math at Sequim High School with Shawn Langston as my principal.

During that time I was also the Chief Negotiator and Grievance Chair for the Sequim Education Association. I dealt with Mr. Langston on a daily basis, and frequently in my role as a union representative. He is an excellent leader, and a man of integrity.

I agree with the letter from Celia Fritz (“Support for Langston,” Sequim Gazette, Nov. 4, page A-14) and urge the school board to expedite the investigation of whatever led to his suspension.

I am confident he will be exonerated, and he has my full support.

Brian Berg

Sequim

Sequim administrators should be restored to positions

I’ve been thinking a lot about what’s going on in our school district and I feel I need to ask our school board some questions.

Anyone can file a complaint, right? And the information in that complaint is not necessarily true, right? So placing someone on administrative leave can taint that person’s reputation, right?!

Also, it costs the district money especially if they have to have risk management investigate. Why is there not an option to have human resources or a mediator talk to both parties and work things out?

Often times there is a miscommunication and/or frustration between the two parties. Should someone have to go on administrative leave every time this happens? What if there are no grounds to their complaint? Nothing happens to the complainers reputation.

Other concerns about the administration leaving process is the district loses money and the public no longer wants to support the school. The situation with superintendent Dr. Rob Clark and principal Shawn Langston could possibly be the reason that we do not pass a school levy in February. Then our district that’s already hurting for money will have to cut a huge chunk of the budget, and that includes a lot of teachers.

My own opinion is that both these administrators will come back because they are both good men that are trying to turn around this district. I pray that they are allowed back to keep fighting for our kids, especially since some in this district have lost sight of that fact that it should be all about the children.

Bethany Smithson

Sequim

Kudos to our veterans

We are disappointed that Fairview Grange will not be able to hold our annual Veterans Day Celebration this year! However, we wish to say Happy Veterans Day to our service members, both past and present. We owe you our thanks, but more than that, we owe you our freedom.

There’s no way to thank our veterans for everything they sacrifice for our freedom, but on Veterans Day, we have to try. All of our Fairview Grange members wish you the best!

We hope to see you next year in person!

Patti Morris

Fairview Grange,

Port Angeles

Disappointment in county’s choices

With reference to, “Incumbents lead legislative races” (Sequim Gazette, Nov. 4, A-1):

Sir, We are indeed fortunate to live in such a beautiful state. It’s just such a shame that its politics stink.

Ethan Harris

Sequim

Trump needs to go

We, the people, since Donald Trump’s first COVID-19 briefing on Jan. 3, are experiencing the U.S. president’s catastrophic failures to admit what he knew then and act appropriately on the pandemic — first, implying it was the Democrats’ ”new hoax,” and later promoting unproven drugs and disinfectant injections as cures — while it killed more than 230,000 Americans among 9.5 million-plus confirmed cases in just nine months.

Now Trump seemingly has dismissed epidemiology and the COVID Task Force in favor of a radiologist who has advocated “herd immunity” as an eventual COVID-19 cure.

“Herd immunity” is letting the coronavirus run its course — much like the Black Plague of the Middle Ages that killed at least one quarter of the European population.

Trump appeared too busy campaigning for re-election to worry about sickness and unnecessary dying of thousands of Americans or anything else.

Trump is still failing the American people, who are contracting the virus in very large numbers and dying every day, for which Trump is personally responsible.

I believe overcoming inevitable obvious voter suppression and voting Trump out of office were the only two options available to the American people to save our constitutional Democracy, Rule of Law and our civil rights.

Sadly, by his own admissions, Trump has become a scourge to our nation. Under the circumstances, describing him as any kind of leader would be a nonsequitur.

Dick Hahn

Sequim