Update, Thursday, Sept. 11:

Nearly all Salem-Keizer School Board members on Tuesday signaled they’d vote for a proposed resolution outlining their commitment to equity for students that does not contain references to race or racism.

It’s a notable turn because the resolution, adopted annually since 2021, has historically included references to white supremacy and racism that led to split votes along political lines and sometimes heated board discussions.

District employees rewrote the proposed resolution this year in consultation with board members, removing the references. Instead, the resolution focuses on school district values and highlights the benefits of diversity, alongside district efforts to recognize student cultures and heritage.

Discussions over the resolution occupied the largest share of Tuesday night’s school board meeting, with some politically progressive board members indicating they would like to see racism named explicitly in the document. None, however, said that they intended to vote against the resolution when it comes before the board again in October.

Conservative board members, meantime, generally praised the wording of the new document.

Superintendent Andrea Castañeda told Salem Reporter she wanted to stop fighting about the content of the resolution, which has been an annual flashpoint. During the meeting, she said resolution should be a statement of what the board believes. It would not change district practices, which include reviewing data and looking at how well schools serve students of color and from historically marginalized backgrounds.

“We live in a society that does not distribute benefit equally, and that distribution tends to cleave along lines of race, ethnicity, religion, cultural background, and gender and sexual orientation. It is the reality of the culture and the society we live in now and as a school system we pay attention to all of those features,” Castañeda said.

She said the rewritten version also highlighted the school district’s core values, adopted by a board vote in April as part of a strategic plan. Those include putting students at the center of decisions, excellence, relationships, equity and community.

Board Chair Cynthia Richardson, who formerly ran the school district’s equity office before retiring in 2023, said the removal of phrases including “white supremacy” were intended to get people to engage with the document without provoking defensiveness.

“We removed those labels because we want people to read the document and we want them to understand it, to accept it and to be a part of it,” she said. “If those words are preventing them from getting deep into what we’re trying to accomplish then those words can go in my opinion, because I know who I am and what I am and what I’m doing.”

Board member Satya Chandragiri, who is politically conservative and has frequently criticized past versions of the resolution for being divisive, praised the revisions.

He said the new language would promote “racial healing” and offered a path for moving on from traumatic episodes of U.S. history without making some students feel targeted or guilty.

“A third grade white kid does not have to internalize for the wrongs of the historical past,” he said.

Karina Guzman Ortiz, the board’s second vice chair, was part of the group of school board directors who pushed for the original equity resolution in 2021. She said she appreciated the new document’s plain language and its less academic focus, but believed explicitly discussing the role of race and racism in educational outcomes was important.

“Racial identity is a data point, it is a predictor of educational and health and wellbeing outcomes and we see that in our own data,” she said. “When we see those words and hear those words and they make us uncomfortable, I strongly believe that we need to do more reading.”

Original story below:

The Salem-Keizer School Board on Tuesday will consider a new equity resolution that for the first time lacks any references to race or racism.

The “resolution of commitment to students” will only be discussed Tuesday and would be voted on at a later meeting. It comes after several years where the wording of equity and antiracism resolutions became a point of contention along political lines during board discussions.

The board will also discuss selling off district land as part of a review of unneeded school property including a former elementary school and an undeveloped piece of east Salem land.

District leaders will present the sale proposals to the Salem-Keizer School Board on Tuesday. The board is expected to vote at an Oct. 14 meeting on declarations saying the properties are not needed for school purposes, which would allow district officials to sell them.

READ IT: School board agenda

READ IT: Proposed resolution of commitment to students

New equity resolution

The new resolution is intended to capture the district’s commitment to equity and welcoming all students, according to the board packet. It removes references to racism and white supremacy that were included in previous years.

The new resolution “combin(es) multiple proclamations and resolutions into a single clear statement of commitment and action on the part of the board,” according to the board packet.

The revisions appear intended to address some criticisms of previous equity resolutions raised by conservative school board members that often led to split votes. It comes amid a Trump administration push to remove diversity, equity and inclusion programs and references to race from all levels of government, including public schools.

The board packet said the revisions were developed through feedback with school board members and advice from the Equity Advisory Committee.

District spokesman Aaron Harada did not directly answer a question about who initiated the changes.

“The previous resolutions have been a flashpoint, which was not the intention of the resolutions. With core values in place, we thought it was an important time to shift to our commitment to our students and focus on celebrating and welcoming our students,” he said in response to a question about what drove the changes. 

While officially nonpartisan, school board races for the past decade have been split largely along ideological lines. Politically progressive board members hold a narrow majority of the board’s seven seats, while conservatives gained a seat during elections this spring.

Last year’s resolution, approved on a 5-2 vote, was presented as a board commitment to antiracism and dismantling white supremacy. It said the board was committed to addressing higher rates of suspension and expulsion for students of color, as well as underrepresentation in gifted programs and advanced academics.

Conservative directors Satya Chandragiri and Krissy Hudson voted against it, with Chandragiri saying the board needed to promote “racial healing.”

“I find the current version comes across as very divisive and distracts us from holding ourselves accountable for some of the real issues our children and parents and families and teachers and staff are actually experiencing now,” Chandragiri said during a Sept. 10, 2024, meeting. 

The new resolution adds language focused on safety and academic achievement.

“We are wholly committed to excellence and hold high standards for every student, staff member, family and community member through a foundation of support that inspires a virtuous cycle of growth and achievement for all students,” it reads. “Safety is a top priority in all our school communities, both physically and emotionally, to prevent all forms of harm, discrimination, harassment and bullying and foster a culture of understanding and acceptance for all identities.”

The resolution ends by saying the board “reaffirms its unwavering commitment to upholding the principles of our vision by fostering a school district that is safe and welcoming, celebrating our diversity through engagement and awareness, ensuring every student has access to the resources and opportunities needed to succeed, and providing a great and memorable school experience.”

Centennial School, Chavez land sales

Budget challenges over the past two years led school district leaders to review property and determine whether selling some land could be beneficial to the district.

District officials hope to sell Centennial School in Keizer, the former home of Clear Lake Elementary School. The site stopped operating as a school in 1994 when Clear Lake moved to its current location.

Since then, the building at 7990 Wheatland Rd. N. in Keizer has been used to house district staff and has hosted a special education program.

“As the district has relocated programs and staff for student inclusion and efficiency, Centennial has been identified by staff as a site no longer useful to the district,” a board report said.

The campus is about 1.9 acres with a 13,000 square foot building and is 128 years old.

Sale is “a better long-term approach than continuing to provide maintenance and utilities for the property,” the report said.

The second property recommended for sale is a 4-acre field north of Chavez Elementary School in east Salem. The district purchased the property in 2012 along with the 9-acre parcel directly south where Chavez was built.

The sale was for $688,291 for both lots, according to Marion County property records. The vacant land is valued at $292,520.

The field is bisected by a wetland and waterway, limiting its use for development, a board report said.

The two recommendations come as district officials are reviewing other properties and also working to purchase a former Wells Fargo call center that would house alternative education programs and consolidate other district operations.

Money from property sales would go into an account for capital projects that could be used for other land purchases or one-time investments.

Contact reporter Rachel Alexander: [email protected] or 503-575-1241.

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