The three women who proclaimed themselves the “Mama Bears,” running on a joint platform in May’s special district election, took their seats on the Crook County School Board Wednesday night. They now make up the majority of the five person board.
Jessica Brumble, Cheyenne Edgerly, and Jennifer Knight were sworn in. A short time later, the board elected Brumble as the chair and Knight as the vice-chair.
Working with them on the board is Scott Cooper, the lone returning member from the last board, and newly-appointed member Steve Holliday. Holliday was selected by the previous board to fill out the remainder of Gwen Carr’s term after she resigned in June.
The meeting took place with a packed crowd in attendance.
“Moving forward, I want you to know that we expect, us people who voted you in, to uphold the promises you made,” said a public commenter. “One being transparency.”
The three newcomers won their races on a joint platform of ensuring parental rights in education, rejecting the use of critical race theory and protecting children’s innocence.
Edgerly had agreed to an interview with Central Oregon Daily News before the meeting, saying she wanted to clear up what she calls misconceptions about her positions. But when we arrived, she changed her mind and said only this:
“I would like to just say that I am really looking forward to working with the new board for the betterment of our community, our students, our staff,” Edgerly said. “We are really focused on parental rights and high academic standards.”
That is the first time Central Oregon Daily News has been able to talk to any of the three since the May election, despite multiple attempts.
Brumble, Knight and Edgerly also provided a list of priorities for how they plan to lead, including;
- Respect the rights of parents to be heard and involved in the education of their children
- Work toward being inclusive in our decision-making process.
- Seek to be transparent and communicate with our community as best we can.
One of the first orders of business for the new board is to find a new superintendent. Dr. Sara Johnson, the reigning Oregon Superintendent of the Year, resigned following the May election.
The last school board began contacting search firms to get that process going. But Edgerly made it clear Wednesday she did not want to spend the money for a nationwide search, instead wanting to take applications and do interviews locally for the next few weeks. If a viable candidate can’t be found, a search firm could be considered.
In the meantime, the board voted to make Assistant Superintendent Joel Hoff the active superintendent until the board’s next meeting in August.
(Prineville, OR) – The Crook County School Board has a transformed look as four new board members begin their four-year terms. Cheyenne Edgerly, Jessica Brumble, and Jennifer Knight were officially sworn into office by Crook County Clerk Cheryl Seely. They will be joined by Steve Holliday, appointed in June to fill the at-large position through 2025, and Scott Cooper, entering the final two years of his current term.
The new board members voted to appoint Brumble chair and Knight vice chair. The three newly-elected members say they’re committed to greater transparency and parent involvement as they begin their terms of office. They provided a list of priorities for how they plan to lead:
● We’ll work together to provide consistent leadership and policy decisions to ensure our students, educators, and parents have what they need to accomplish the work of learning
● We will respect all elements of our community and work toward being inclusive in our decision-making process
● We will respect the rights of parents to be heard and involved in the education of their children
● We will support our teachers, our staff, and the administrators in their roles and responsibilities as they seek to educate the children of our community
● We will follow the laws of our State and the policies set by this Board in a fair, equal, and consistent manner
● We will focus on the task of educating our students, not on promoting ideologies that divide our community and seek to devalue any individual
● We will always negotiate in good faith as we attempt to find new vehicles to help our children be educated and prepared for the demands of the 21st century
● We will seek to be transparent and communicate with our community as best we can
