White Salmon Schools

Dale Palmer's Letter

A Letter from the Superintendent

The following letter was mailed to parents of children in the district on April 15, 2005 regarding recent events at Columbia High School.

Over the last several weeks there have been a series of unfortunate events at Columbia High School. I want to assure you that although we are dealing with these issues, the staff at Columbia High School, as well as staff at Henkle Middle School and Whitson Elementary School, are committed to providing a safe learning environment for our students and continuing our mission of delivering quality education. I want to provide you the facts of each incident, and what is going on at this point.

On March 30 the FBI confiscated a computer allegedly used by a staff member at Columbia High School. The computer was seized because it had been allegedly used for unauthorized, inappropriate, and illegal child pornography. At that point the staff member involved was put on administrative leave. That means this teacher is not allowed to be at the school or have interactions with any students or staff. This staff member has not been charged with a crime, but is being questioned by the FBI. No other staff members are part of this investigation.

On March 31 the FBI also confiscated two computers located in the back portion of the Library also allegedly used for inappropriate and illegal child pornography.

The White Salmon School District is cooperating with the FBI investigation, and will also be doing a separate internal investigation to ensure that other school computers were not used for any unauthorized purposes.

After this news was made public, a CHS student has stepped forward and filed a police report saying she had an interaction with the same teacher that made her feel uncomfortable. The local police are investigating this report, and once again, the White Salmon School District is cooperating fully with the investigation. No other students have filed any police reports.

We want to emphasize that we endeavor to make all students feel at ease, safe, and able to talk to any staff member about any incident involving another student or staff member that makes them feel uncomfortable, harassed, or bullied. The staff, in turn, takes these incidents very seriously and will make sure that there is a follow-up to any reported incident.

Over Spring Break vandals broke into Columbia High School and severely damaged a number of classrooms and stole computers, equipment, and other items. There appears to be no connection to the break-in and the other incidents. However, it is unsettling. The police are also investigating this incident.

All of these incidents spawn rumors and provide a distraction to both students and staff while school is in session. That is why we are providing information and updates to our students, staff, parents and community members as information becomes available.

We also want to make sure students feel comfortable coming to school and attending classes, as well as parents having confidence in the measures we have in place to ensure a safe learning environment.

If you have any questions, concerns, or further information, please contact me at 493-1500.

Sincerely,

Dale F. Palmer
Superintendent

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