Brenda Hirschi @ Port of Shelton Adage Hearings
Brenda Hirschi is the current President of the Shelton School Board. Due to State laws regarding such measures, local school boards have a large say in how their school budgets are balanced, what expenditures will be made, what programs will be maintained, how the schools will be staffed, and what extra-curricular activities will be promoted along with whether the curriculum, especially electives, is a good fit for the community. The PTA and board members as well as school staff are not always of one accord. When differences arise, the disputes can become contentious–as they have over the proposed closing of Shelton High’s pool which serves as the only facility of its kind within Mason County. It serves as a destination for students and residents alike throughout the year for team sports, recreation, instructions on life saving skills like how to swim/rescue. In a county with few funded activities designed for youth, some believe it also serves as a bulwark against crime and drugs by giving young people constructive enjoyable programs in which to participate.
Jackie & Scott MacAlevy w/family
Jackie MacAlevy is a mother of 6, a long time resident, a business woman who partners with her husband’s construction company, and a leader of an area swim team/club who have utilized the pool over the years to good effect, winning a number of regional/national medals and acclaim in the process.
The pool has developed some cracks and serious maintenance problems requiring repairs estimated to range from $250,000 to $1,000,000 in cost. This is money difficult for a lightly populated poor rural community to come by. Brenda Hirschi and her husband, Dean, have proposed closing the pool and using the money saved for its repair to augment other portions of the high school infrastructure, additional classrooms, and the curriculum. Many members of the school board, lead by Ms. Hirschi’s insistence, appear swayed by her arguments. Ms. MacAlevy strongly disagrees and is attempting to rally support for the proposition the pool is a resource the high school, its students, and the community cannot afford to lose–for a variety of reasons.
Such dilemmas are hardly unheard of. But, the rub appears to be the personalities involved and perceived disrespect at public meetings of the staff, participants, and members of the community who hold views differing from Ms. Hirschi’s. This reporter had occasion to take Ms. Hirschi’s measure during her unsuccessful campaign to become a County Commissioner several years ago. At that time, the cause celeb in Mason County was defeating a company named Adage and its plan for a biomassacre plant (giant incinerator) near the high school, recreational field for youth, and residential areas. The proposed plan was massive in scale (denuding woodlands for a 50 mile radius) and threatened to make Shelton the gateway to industrial blight on the Olympic Peninsula. To her credit, Brenda Hirschi opposed this plan. Ironically, she supported a similar if somewhat smaller plan by Simpson Timber (Green Diamond) to add an incinerator to downtown Shelton’s waterfront, further polluting the air, bay, estuaries, and harbor. When asked about the discrepancy in her position, she glibly explained it was because Simpson had been a resident business for many years while Adage was an interloper. When pressed on this contradiction, she became brittle, defensive, and hostile.
Brenda Hirschi spent many years as a federal employee in a fiscal capacity doing bookkeeping and accounting for the government. Her strong suit during her campaign for County Commissioner was pointing out how deficient the County’s budget was, how no accountability was in evidence for large expenditures of public funds and transfers to private for profit corporations such as the EDC (Economic Development Council), and the failure to invite bids for many of the proposed County services farmed out to selected firms. This was not only an invitation to cronyism, corruption, waste, fraud, and abuse, but resulted in a number of lawsuits which forced the County to settle for its failure to honor certain contracts. More recently, the State Auditor’s office found the County had violated its fiduciary duty to properly manage its budge according to State law and issued a directive to pay back the departments it had short changed. It also required a specific plan on how the County was going to fund the Belfair Sewer System (a project that had been Senator and County Commissioner Tim Sheldon’s pet monetary black hole) without defaulting on its bond obligations.
Jackie MacAlevy contacted this publisher to make some of the following observations and criticisms of both Ms. Hirschi as well as the proposal to close Shelton High’s swimming pool:
“Currently I believe I am on Ms. Hirschi’s short list [of personas non grata] at the moment. Upon our first meeting she either had very poor personal etiquette or she was trying to intimidate me. I proceeded to send an email to all 700 district employees regarding the pool closure issue. I believe I got her attention. In a matter of 6 weeks the pool repairs have gone from approximately $250,000 to ‘well over a million’ and she has admitted on the district website (Friday 2-28) they have not received any new bids or the engineering report as yet.”
“At the Tuesday February 25th school board meeting, several [at one such, 3/4ths in attendance were said to have walked out] in the audience walked out. I have requested the audio from the meeting, as I received a second hand account of the events. The report I received is as follows:
“That meeting was the most horrendous display of disrespect, unprofessionalism and belittling that I have ever seen. The “maintenance projects” is where the discussion went awry which included topics of the re-roofing of OBJH, reconfiguration, the new portable to house the ever growing B-5 program and the pool. Although ordering a new portable was in the budget and researched and ready to order; now Wayne Massie was directed to find other space for part of the Early Learning Program by next week or the week after. He was also directed to get exact numbers on reconfiguration options by next week or the week after. While the pool wasn’t directly talked about, there were several comments regarding ‘Education of our students is our priority’ and talk of not enough money. Since Wayne was in charge of the pool committee, it sounds like he let everyone be on it that requested it because he read off about 15 names. The [deadline for completion] is June 30th, though, and the board is so volatile and reactive; I just have a bad feeling we will come up with all kinds of ideas and solutions, but they may have already made their decision. ¾ths of the audience walked out of the meeting (including many administrators) after 1 ½ hours because Brenda H. said such disrespectful things to Wayne and stated that all the problems were because the budget was wrong, insulting many members of the audience. Then, Gene accused everyone of acting like children who didn’t win a baseball game. It really was unbelievable.”
The Early Learning portable above mentioned was discussed and agreed [it] was needed and [to be] funded at the January 28th study session.
I have spoken with several district employees [who] all are upset with the situation. The Journal quotes one who walked out of the school board meeting as saying, “That’s a hostile work environment.”
I agree there is no easy solution to solve all the school district’s budget/funding challenges, but, the environment since January has deteriorated at a rapid rate. The talks about reconfiguration and putting 9 portables at the HS (the cost of the portables is in the ballpark of 1.5-1.8 million dollars) have become a priority in the budget talks. The only locations to put 9 portables is next to OBJH or at/[near] the HUFF n PUFF [trail].
On another front, [on] January 28th, Bob Woods, the maintenance director, was asked if the recent heavy rains and winds had caused any more leaks in the OBJH roof. The answer was ‘no’, and that a repair would fix all the leaking. The estimated cost of the repairs to the roof were approximately $75,000. [This sum doesn’t appear to address the cracks in the pool and the broken mechanical systems associated with it.]
With all of the shifting numbers and shifting talk the whole situation is suspect. After hearing Dean Hirschi speak on several occasions, both past and present, it is clear he is adamant that the pool needs to be closed. It seems Ms Hirschi has taken the same position [as her husband]. She is using the education of the children as a priority/[reason], to close the pool. Being in a community with little for youth to do, taking one more thing [e.g. the pool and the multiple programs it serves] away is very shortsighted and irresponsible to the greater good, the health/[welfare] of the community.
It is my feeling the community, as a whole, needs to be paying attention and asking questions. The outlying districts which send their children to the Shelton High School don’t have representation on the school board. These things [closing the pool] will affect their children as well. There may well be problems within the district and how things have been managed over the years, but the current course may cripple the community for the foreseeable future.” -Jackie MacAlevy-
There are a whole lot of needs and a long list of wants in this school district. Asking direct questions and requiring supporting data/evidence seems to make Brenda Hirschi harsh, or mean, or demeaning. it has always been the challenge of strong women that when they present their strength they are perceived as, well, bitches, While a man, exhibiting similar characteristics, is simply exhibiting leadership skills. I guess these double-standards will be with us for a while yet.
Brenda’s experience in government provides her with the tools to be an excellent School Board member and chair. However, when she tries to apply that experience she is attacked.
I guess Shelton and Mason County are not yet ready to step into the present reality of too few dollars and too many needs – not including “wants”, like a swimming pool that apparently services all of Mason County, but whose expense rests solely on the Shelton School District.
In Shelton, and Mason County, doing things the same old way and expecting a different result has landed us in this present situation of too many wants receiving attention and funding, and too many needs remaining unmet. I can see the headline now: “Swimming pool trumps new roof at OBJH – OBJH teachers and students being treated for exposure to black mold.”
If Shelton and Mason County want a swimming pool, let’s start brainstorming where the private money for such an expensive luxury might come from; the Shelton School Board simply cannot pull that kind of money out of thin air!
And then there’s the Belfair Sewer System which serves Belfair residents but is being paid for by everyone in the County, at least according to the State Auditor’s office.
Roslynne Reed: I read the review of the swimming pool problem and as a School Board Director also, I know exactly what Brenda Hirschi and the rest of the School Board are dealing with. When you don’t have enough money to go around and you have aging buildings, and more needs than you can address, you have to set priorities. I hear what Ms. MacAlevy is saying, but let’s face it, the Shelton School District cannot carry the full load for the repair and continued maintenance of the swimming pool. It’s a nice to have asset, but when other buildings are falling apart, the liability for the school district has to be taken VERY seriously. It may anger some, but you have to weigh safety of the children over emotions of the community.
about an hour ago · Like
Roslynne Reed: The only other possible solution I can come up with is to upgrade/replace the pool, which would be very expensive. That would require a vote of the taxpayers of the Shelton School District and maybe it would be more productive for the supporters to lead that effort.
Yes, the supporters should lead the effort. We need to find private dollars if we want to have a “public” swimming pool. It cannot be the responsibility of the school district when the resources are so severely limited!
The school district has to prioritize the limited funds they have, as Roslynne Reed points out, and there is just not enough money to cover all of the needs of the district without trying to fund wants.
Katherine Price, if you are the same Katherine Price that was named to the Pool Advisory Committee you are charged with finding a solution. Clearly the district cannot pay for reconfiguration and the pool. So what is your solution? You are a smart and strong woman as evidenced by your comments. A new pool will exceed taxpayer ability, and a YMCA is not an option as there is a YMCA Boys and Girls Club in the county. Pool supporters welcome your realistic suggestions, and it is now your duty being on the Pool Advisory Committee. (Unless there is another Katherine Price, and then I extend my apologies).
Awareness needs to be brought to the issue, and the words and actions of the School Board need to be examined. There is a peaceful solution I am certain. However if there is not a compromising and peaceful conversation no solution will be had and the community and students will lose.
There are much older, properly maintained pools in our area that have expected lifespans of 60-100 years, so assuming our pool is reaching the end of its useful life seems premature. If it’s properly maintained, the SHS pool could have decades of use in it still.
Current documents from the district estimate that the repairs needed to the pool are estimated at around $252,000, not the $400-500k (or more) that keeps being quoted. In addition, money has been budgeted for some of those repairs (pool resurfacing) in each of the last 3 district budget cycles and then were never done. In questioning the superintendent about this, he says that previously budgeted money is still available. The current budget has money in it to take care of many of the needed pool repairs. It seems to me, that if we could make a plan to take care of the needed repairs over the next few years (as Maintenance Director Bob Woodward has claimed is possible) then we could extend the life of our facility and continue to offer needed and valuable programs to our school kids including PE, swim team, third grade water safety courses, etc. plus have a facility that benefits the community.