Rebecca Farrell’s kids began struggling in math after their teacher resigned midyear.
The resignation came late in January, and Farrell said the substitute who replaced him was not equipped to help.
“She was basically a warm body in the classroom,” she said. “My kids were flailing.”
For Farrell, this was the first sign that something was off at the Bandon School District.
Caleb Kruse, the math teacher who resigned, said he left after district administrators falsely accused him of having an affair with another employee. The district said it doesn’t comment on personnel matters.
The resignation was one of several in the Bandon School District, where a labor dispute, staff transfers and complaints about district leadership from teachers, staff and parents have divided the coastal community.
‘Hijacking somebody’s career’
In the spring, the district and the Bandon Education Association, a union representing teachers, began contract negotiations.
Union president Jen Ells said the union asked for a 15% raise, expecting to negotiate down.
But she said the district wouldn’t work with them.
“We were in a bargaining session, and the superintendent handed everybody sitting there the list of all the teachers in the district and their hire date and said, ‘The union needs to pick 10 to fire,’” she said.
Negotiations broke down, and a mediator helped the two sides reach an agreement: a 7% raise in the 2024-2025 school year, followed by a 5% raise in each of the next two years.
But teachers in union leadership said they were then involuntarily transferred to different schools or roles in retaliation.
Under the union contract, teachers are supposed to meet with the principal before a transfer, be told about vacancies and have some say in where they are reassigned.
But teachers said this didn’t happen.
“It was very clear that the district does not care about my thoughts, opinions or my expertise,” teacher Ashley Pearson said at an October school board meeting. “The proper procedures were not followed.”
Ells said the district didn’t give details about why the changes were needed.
“Any of the conversations felt very cryptic and very much like, ‘This had to be done. You might not understand, but this had to be done,’” she said. “That doesn't satisfy when you're completely hijacking somebody's career.”
The district claims it followed standard procedures, noting that teachers were notified of schedule changes by email in May, months before the transfers took effect in August. The district said meetings with principals occurred during that time.
District officials also said the changes weren’t targeted. At a school board meeting, Superintendent Shauna Schmerer said 37 of the district’s 40 teachers saw schedule adjustments this year.
In a written statement, the school board said the reassignments were made “to better match student enrollment, financial limitations, and course offerings.”
Still, multiple teachers resigned.
Those who left included Pearson, an English teacher and speech and debate coach at the district for eight years; a middle school English teacher who had been there for five years; a math teacher with three years in the district; and a school social studies teacher with more than 15 years of experience.
“I have worked in other districts, and this is not normal,” Jen Shipp, one of the teachers who resigned, wrote in a letter to the board. “Districts do not operate this way. Turnover does not occur at this rate.”
Students organized a protest in June in response to the transfers.
According to Farrell, who also has a son working in the district, morale has suffered.
“The atmosphere at the district feels like fear,” she said. “There's this undercurrent at the school where teachers are walking on eggshells. Students are confused, scared, worried that their favorite teacher may be gone next week.”
'Crisis of leadership'
Some parents, teachers and former employees said the problem is the school board and Superintendent Schmerer.
“The buck stops with her. We’re losing teachers,” said parent Amber Burg, who has called for a change in leadership. “We're bleeding teachers because of her directly and because of her behavior and because of the way she treats people.”
Union members submitted a formal complaint to the board, citing a “clear loss of confidence” in Schmerer.
Since Schmerer's arrival in 2021, several administrators have resigned, including the district’s director of operations and two business managers. They cited a hostile work environment, as well as alleged misconduct and intimidation from the superintendent.
Former business manager Karina Taylor resigned after, among other things, she said Schermer reversed approvals for purchases and attempted to blame Taylor for it.
“Just the way that she treated me verbally, I could see that I wouldn't be able to feel safe in that environment and be able to do good work,” she said.
Former operations director Chris Trevisiol alleged that the superintendent didn’t properly dispose of asbestos during a remodel, which he described as an example of poor decision-making and financial mismanagement.
“She pushes people away and isolates and gaslights,” he said. “It's not healthy behavior, and she'll tell you one thing and do another.”
“What started as a labor dispute truly turned into a crisis of leadership and integrity. I've never seen an administration so openly toxic or a governance culture so compromised by personal bias and intimidation.”Chico Robinson
Chico Robinson, local representative for the Oregon Education Association, the state’s largest teachers union, said he was surprised Schmerer is still in her role.
“What started as a labor dispute truly turned into a crisis of leadership and integrity,” he said. “I've never seen an administration so openly toxic or a governance culture so compromised by personal bias and intimidation.”
The district and school board declined repeated requests for interviews.
In an email, school board Chair Angela Cardas said JPR needed to hear the “rest of the story,” but she first needed to consult the district’s legal counsel and the Oregon School Boards Association. She did not respond to follow-up emails.
In a public statement, the board said it’s committed to transparency, fulfilling its legal obligations and working toward a positive climate in the district.
The statement also said Schmerer would be evaluated this spring.
Some in the community support the superintendent and have spoken up at meetings in her favor.
“Shauna has shown leadership in our district by being part of this organization,” said Susan Dodrill, vice president of the Bandon Booster Club. “Students come first for her. Bandon and the Booster Club need her strength and dedication, as she has shown to our student body.”
“Rebuilding trust and fostering a tone of mutual respect is a high priority for me and our leadership team,” Schmerer wrote in a June email to a parent. “I truly believe that positive change starts with openness, humility, and consistent communication, and I remain committed to modeling that.”
'Loyalty to the superintendent'
It’s not just Schmerer; there have also been complaints about school board members.
Some residents alleged that certain members are protecting the superintendent due to their friendships with her.
“What's equally troubling is the behavior of some of the school board members who've chosen loyalty to the superintendent over the duty to the public that voted for them,” Robinson said.
One complaint against Cardas alleged that her personal relationship with Schmerer “could reasonably be perceived as biased decision-making” and constituted a conflict of interest.
“Nothing has been hidden, nothing has been thrown away, nothing has been ignored.”Angela Cardas
In a November Facebook post, Cardas wrote about how difficult the past six months have been for her as a board member.
“I’m tired of researching answers, providing proof, giving my side of the story and explaining why I legally can’t explain every last detail,” Cardas wrote, adding that those restrictions are meant to protect all parties involved.
Board member Briana Hutchens acknowledged her friendship with Schmerer in an October Facebook post supporting the administration.
“I have had it with hearing ‘what’s best for the kids’ from the teachers,” she wrote. “We are a small community, and nothing good will come from continuing to let the teachers and the public shame our administration.”
“Conflict of interest has not been proven,” the board wrote in an October email to Burg, stating that Cardas and Hutchens said their evaluations of Schmerer were “more critical as a result of their friendship.”
There has been some movement. The board recently held a mandatory staff meeting to discuss workplace culture. Cardas reassured employees, “Nothing has been hidden, nothing has been thrown away, nothing has been ignored.”
Later that day, the board voted to begin an inquiry into complaints it received about Schmerer and other issues. Cardas said the board would seek outside investigators through OSBA and that she would remove herself from the process.
‘We were getting nowhere’
Some families have also raised concerns about special education services in the Bandon School District.
Parent Amy Orique said the district’s response to her autistic son’s needs led her family to move to California.
She claims the district did not respond to her questions and failed to provide an aide for her son, who has a history of eloping, or running away from school — including once into traffic.
“It was stonewalling, no communication, ignored emails, and we were getting nowhere,” she said.
There is an ongoing discrimination investigation by the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights into this case, involving potential disability-related retaliation.
Orique said she understands the constraints of a smaller district, but she thought that at least physical safety would be a given for all students.
She also claims Schmerer accosted her and her son when they went to the district office one day, which led her son to run away.
Eventually, Orique said her family had enough.
“We couldn't build a life there. We weren't being treated well at all,” she said. “My son was just declining. He was losing skills. He was not getting what he needed. He received zero minutes of service while we were in Bandon.”
Jessica Markham-Brink said her son, a senior with ADHD, also did not receive adequate support, despite having a 504 plan for classroom accommodations.
“Mainly when I talk to the school, it seems to be they don't have anything for him,” she said.
Markham-Brink said her son has been struggling, and she worries about whether he’ll graduate, given how much school he’s missed.
To her, the district is trying to fit all students into the same cookie-cutter mold.
“‘If you can't hang with this one-size-fits-all program, then go away,’” she said. “That doesn't really work in a community where they're the only option, really.”
In an email, Becky Armistead, the district’s special education director, said the district takes concerns about special education services seriously and was not aware of any formal complaints over special education services. She did not respond to a follow-up email detailing specific concerns.
‘Really destabilizing for kids’
Concerned parents and community members created a group called Do Better BSD to create positive change and demand transparency and accountability from the district.
A separate Facebook group was created in mid-December, Friends of Bandon School District, to push back against the recent complaints and support the administration.
“When elections don’t go their way, teachers' unions, partisan activists, and disgruntled former employees shouldn’t get to override the will of voters through intimidation, manufactured outrage, or endless pressure campaigns,” one post reads.
Meanwhile, the state Employment Relations Board plans to hold a hearing in February regarding an unfair labor practices complaint filed by the union. The district and union are also working through arbitration on a grievance the union filed, and there’s an open case regarding the district at the Oregon Department of Education.
All of the changes and uncertainty trickle down to students, Ells said.
“As a middle school student, you might have three brand new teachers,” she said. “It's really destabilizing for kids.”
State data shows few students in Bandon are meeting state grade-level expectations in 3rd-grade English or 8th-grade math, although the district is above the statewide average in the latter. Attendance and on-track to graduate rates have improved. But enrollment is declining, and the number of students with disabilities has increased.
Farrell even considered pulling her kids out of the district.
“In the last six months, things have escalated,” she said. “Over the summer, I had conversations with my kids that we may need to find a different school district.”
She said her kids told her they want to stay, so she’s hoping things improve soon.
