Scott Drue Archives - Our Town – Silverton, Mt. Angel & Scotts Mills

Silver Falls School District Interim Superintendent Joe Morelock Submitted Photo

News April 15, 2024

Money woes mount – SFSD struggles to make sense of the dollars

By Stephen Floyd Former Newberg Superintendent Joe Morelock has been hired as interim superintendent for the Silver Falls School District (SFSD), with the goal of “stabilizing” its finances and administration. During a special meeting April 1, the SFSD Board approved an intergovernmental agreement with Willamette Education Service District (WESD), where Morelock currently serves as superintendent. The agreement, effective through June […]

Former SHS Principal Sione Thompson Submitted Photo

News April 15, 2024

More transition: Silverton High principal resigns to take Nevada position

By Stephen Floyd Former Silverton High School Principal Sione Thompson has resigned from his position as of April 2 to take the helm of a struggling charter school in Nevada. The Silver Falls School District confirmed Thompson’s departure in a media release that day and said Assistant Principal Patrick Mulligan has stepped in as interim principal. Mulligan is expected to […]

Instructional specialist and literacy coach Cyndi Hagey teaching a class of Rotary Readers volunteers. Dixon Bledsoe

Community April 15, 2024

Rotary Readers – Volunteers boost reading scores in Silver Falls schools

By Melissa Wagoner Learning to read is one of the most important skills a child can master, according to Mark Twain Elementary School principal Katie Beckett. “It’s the gateway to equity,” she said. But that doesn’t mean it’s always easy, especially for those students who spent their kindergarten year learning online during the COVID pandemic. For those students, lower than […]

School April 2, 2024

Morelock tapped to ‘stabilize’ SFSD as interim super

Former Newberg Superintendent Joe Morelock has been hired as interim superintendent for the Silver Falls School District (SFSD), with the goal of “stabilizing” its finances and administration. On Monday night, the SFSD Board approved an intergovernmental agreement with Willamette Education Service District (WESD), where Morelock currently serves as superintendent. The agreement goes into effect April 3 through June 30, during […]

News April 1, 2024

Money woes – Revenue shortfalls, expense overages put SFSD in turmoil

By Stephen Floyd Officials with the Silver Falls School District (SFSD) believe workforce reductions are necessary as they learn a projected budget deficit may be greater than initially estimated. On March 21 during a special meeting of the board, Director of Finance Kim Doud said they were learning about revenue shortfalls that could deepen an original deficit projection of $825,000. […]

Briefs April 1, 2024

Scott Drue resigns as superintendent

Scott Drue has resigned as superintendent of the Silver Falls School District (SFSD) amid a deficit projection of more than $825,000 and concerns from teachers of “toxic” leadership. Drue’s resignation was accepted by the SFSD Board during a special meeting March 13, effective immediately. The board then named Assistant Superintendent Dan Busch as acting superintendent. In a prepared statement, Drue […]

Scott Drue (foreground) resigns as superintendent of the Silver Falls School District Wednesday night during a special meeting of the SFSD Board.

News March 14, 2024

Scott Drue resigns as SFSD superintendent

By Stephen Floyd Scott Drue has resigned as superintendent of the Silver Falls School District (SFSD) as the district braces for an $825,000 budget shortfall and faces a crisis of employee trust. Drue’s resignation was accepted by the School Board during a special meeting Wednesday night effective immediately. The board then named Assistant Superintendent Dan Busch as acting superintendent. In […]

Members of the Executive Team of the Silver Falls Education Association share concerns aboutalleged financial mismanagement March 11 during the Silver Falls School District board meeting. Stephen Floyd

News March 14, 2024

‘Financial negligence’ Education association files formal complaint

By Stephen Floyd The Silver Falls Education Association (SFEA) is filing a formal complaint against Silver Falls School District (SFSD) Superintendent Scott Drue amid a budget crisis that appears to threaten June paychecks. During the March 11 meeting of the SFSD Board, the SFEA Executive Team shared a statement alleging Drue committed acts of “financial negligence” that resulted in a […]

School February 14, 2024

Closure deadline: Middle school planning

By Stephen Floyd Officials in the Silver Falls School District (SFSD) had their first serious talk about the possibility of closing Silverton Middle School as they moved forward with a bond to replace the facility. During the Jan. 29 meeting of the SFSD Board, Superintendent Scott Drue proposed a deadline of June of 2027 to close the campus and sought […]

School February 1, 2024

Moving on – Nielsen departing SFSD for online academy

By Stephen Floyd The Silver Falls School District (SFSD) has announced the departure of Director of Finance & Operations Steve Nielsen after he accepted a position with Oregon Charter Academy. Nielsen is expected to remain with SFSD through mid-March and among other tasks will oversee finalization of a facilities bond proposal for the May 21 election, due to be submitted […]

School December 15, 2023

Bond redux – Silver Falls aims to put new bond measure on May ballot

By Stephen Floyd The Silver Falls School District (SFSD) plans to put another facilities bond on the May Primary Election ballot, though the dollar amount and scope of the bond may not be set until February. On Dec. 11, the SFSD Board unanimously passed a resolution authorizing a bond program for the May 21, 2024, election after having discussed the […]

News November 1, 2023

Kennedy, Silverton HS in top 50 rankings

By James Day Kennedy High and Silverton both have received lofty rankings in the annual ratings of American high schools by U.S. News & World Report. Kennedy came in at No. 26 in the rankings, while Silverton took 41st. The U.S. News high school rankings include data on nearly 25,000 public high schools in 50 states and the District of Columbia. Nearly 18,000 schools were ranked on […]

School October 16, 2023

Oversight – Board appoints bond $ watchdogs

The Silver Falls School District Board has unanimously appointed 17 individuals to serve on a Bond Oversight Committee ahead of a Nov. 7 vote on a $138 million facilities bond. Officials said their goal is to let residents know who would be overseeing implementation of bond projects before casting their ballots. During the board’s Oct. 9 regular meeting, Superintendent Scott […]

School September 15, 2023

Oversight SFSD board to announce bond committee prior to vote

By Stephen Floyd The Silver Falls School District Board will appoint a Bond Oversight Committee ahead of the Nov. 7 bond measure vote so participants will be known before votes are cast. The $138 million bond would impact all 11 schools in the district, and the committee would include at least one representative from within each school’s boundaries. There would […]

News September 1, 2023

New contract – SFSD reaches agreement with non-teacher union

By Stephen Floyd Non-teacher employees have reached an agreement with the Silver Falls School District (SFSD) after four months of negotiations that largely centered on compensation, discipline and grievance procedures. On July 28, the district reached a tentative agreement with the Oregon School Employees Association (OSEA) for a three-year contract that would retroactively go into effect July 1. The contract […]

Business June 15, 2023

Bound – SFSD board weighs school needs, voter approval

By Stephen Floyd The Silver Falls School District Board is expected review the recommendations of its Bond Advisory Committee and vote on the scope and timing for a potential capital improvement bond June 20. The committee discussed $138 million in district needs in order to improve all local schools plus rebuild Silverton Middle School. The middle school is currently housed […]

News March 30, 2023

Three SFSD Board incumbents step aside

Three incumbents on the Silver Falls School District Board have declined to seek re-election during the May 16 primary for reasons ranging from personal obligations to concerns over district leadership. March 16 was the filing deadline for primary candidates. Board members Janet Allanach, Lori McLaughlin and Jonathan Edmonds, whose terms expire this year, did not submit their names. Allanach and […]

Briefs March 30, 2023

Impasse – Silver Falls School District Board optimistic about negotiations

By Stephen Floyd The Silver Falls School District (SFSD) Board is hopeful they can compromise with the teacher’s union after an impasse was declared March 17, though administrators say there is little ground left to give. During a special meeting of the board March 23, officials said they were optimistic a negotiated contract was possible during mediation sessions scheduled for […]

School March 14, 2023

Silverton, Mount Angel schools focus on equity gaps

By Stephen Floyd School districts in Silverton and Mount Angel have identified racial and cultural inequity as areas that need greater focus, based on student performance rates published by the state last year. On Oct. 20, 2022, the Oregon Department of Education released its At-A-Glance reports, breaking down enrollment, test scores and other metrics for individual schools and districts. In […]

News November 1, 2022

Update: SFSD settles with former band director

By Stephen Floyd The Silver Falls School District (SFSD) has agreed to pay $57,500 to settle a legal dispute with former Band Director Frank Petrik after his teaching contract was terminated in August for alleged insubordination. On Oct. 24, the district board unanimously approved a settlement agreement between SFSD, Petrik and the Silver Falls Education Association (SFEA). In addition to […]

Community September 5, 2022

This is only a drill: Silverton officers work on preventing tragedies

By James Day Silverton Police Chief Jim Angelmier, the reporter and City Manager Ron Chandler were lined up against the wall of a classroom wing at Silverton High School. In front of them a heavily armed active shooting suspect held a gun on a student hostage, played by a mannequin. A bell rang, eerily realistic screaming and shouting boomed through […]

News September 5, 2022

Cadence – SFSD fires band director for insubordination

By Stephen Floyd The Band Director of the Silver Falls School District has been fired for allegedly defying district leadership, though few details of what transpired have been made public. During a special meeting of the School Board on Aug. 9, the contract of Frank Petrik was terminated on the grounds of insubordination and neglect of duty, effective that day, […]

Community May 31, 2022

Gun policy – Volunteers resign after board rejects ban on concealed permit guns

By Stephen Floyd Two members of a policy committee for the Silver Falls School District (SFSD) have resigned in protest after the board rejected a proposed ban on concealed carry firearms amid confrontational discussions. Superintendent Policy Workgroup members Dawn Tacker and Melissa Seifer Briggs resigned May 23 following the board’s May 9 regular meeting, during which policy proposal KGBB was […]

Briefs April 14, 2022

SFSD hires new principal

The Silver Falls School District has hired an administrator from the Salem-Keizer School District to become the new principal for Robert Frost School. Sarah Grimmer, current co-principal at Scott Elementary School, in Salem, was hired by the Silver Falls School Board April 11, filling a vacancy left after Principal Mandy Pack accepted a job with a different district. Grimmer was […]

School February 27, 2022

Transition planning – Silver Falls district going mask-optional March 31

By Stephen Floyd The Silver Falls School District has chosen to become mask-optional after statewide mask mandates are lifted March 31. The district board voted six-to-one Feb. 14 to direct Superintendent Scott Drue to draft policies transitioning away from mask mandates that have been in place since 2020 to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Opposing the decision was Board Member […]