Students want voices heard

ONEIDA, N.Y. >> A planned sit-in protest at Oneida High School is the talk of the halls and classrooms, according to local students.

“Fromthe people I’ve talked to, I’d estimate 3/4 of the school are attending,” said Jeremy Yagoda, a senior at Oneida High School.

Yagoda said during a single lunch period, he made the effort to talk with everyone there and found only 10 people who were opposed to the sit-in.

“Teachers talk about it in their classrooms and it’s all over social media,” Yagoda said.

Superintendent Mary-Margret Zehr recently proposed eliminating the high school principal position, as well as the assistant superintendent for instruction. The high school principal position would instead become an executive principal K-12 position, whose responsibilities would be to provide and facilitate a continuous support for students in the areas of social and emotional developmental learning, career/college readiness, school climate/student engagement and attendance.

Yagoda said Principal Brian Gallagher is a great man who would give a student the shirt off his back if given the opportunity, and who has made several sacrifices for the school.

When the news first came out about Zehr’s proposal in January, Yagoda said students went to Twitter to voice their support for the principal. They encour- aged each other to attend the Tuesday, Feb. 12 board of education meeting to stop the proposal from happening.

“Zehr gave us this idea that there was going to be an overall principal,” said Ben Mauler, a junior at Oneida High School. “Someone who would be the principal of all the schools in our district, including our school. But all the other schools will still have their principal while the high school wouldn’t.”

Mauler said he didn’t agree with getting rid of the principal’s position and replacing it with the executive principal — he didn’t understand how it would benefit the school.

“With all of the problems, I don’t see how getting rid of someone in charge and putting someone else in charge and spreading their tasks would solve our problems,” Mauler said. “We’d be spreading our resources thinner.”

Yagoda said in Zehr’s proposal, there’s call for a position that would provide sup- port for students, whether it be psychologically or career wise. But he feels that’s not what’s truly needed.

“This year, we hired a social worker and she’s constantly booked up,” Yagoda said. “We need more of them and more guidance counselors because they’re full too and don’t have time for all the students. It’s not the principal, it’s the positions that are actually beneficial.”

Yagoda said to him personally, it feels as if Zehr doesn’t care about what the students have to say.

“We want to show her that we do have a say in our school and the things that affect us,” Yagoda said.

“We’re not opposing her, we’re opposing her plan,” Mauler said.

“In regards to the planned peaceful protest by students at the high school, I applaud the students as they desire to have their voices heard,” said Zehr. “I know there are rumors circulating about the proposal and I encourage members of the community to read the proposal in its entirety at oneidacsd.org. I believe the re-organizational plan is in the best interest of the Oneida City School District.”

To review Zehr’s proposal, visit www.oneidacsd.org/news/what_s_new/reorganization_proposal.

The OCSD Board of Education meets on Feb. 12 at 6 p.m. at the Otto Shortell Middle School, 200Markell Drive, Wampsville, and on Feb. 27 at 6 p.m. at the District Office, 565 Sayles St., Oneida.