Classes resume after settlement reached

FORT HALL, Idaho – Students were back in the classrooms of the Shoshone-Bannock Junior-Senior High School on Monday after a settlement was reached in a dispute over control of the school.

“We didn’t win everything we wanted to, but we got some concessions,” science teacher Ed Galindo said. “We now have a council that treats our school board with respect. … That’s a workable solution for us.”

Galindo served as a spokesman for the nearly 20 teachers who walked out last Thursday in protest over what they saw as the dismantling of the school’s administration.

In August, the tribal council for the eastern Idaho reservation suspended the school board for 90 days, taking control of the institution.

It fired Superintendent Wayne Waddoups and another staff member and put the principal on leave, prompting her resignation.

Two others resigned in protest and students marched on the council offices.

The school has about 160 students.

Under the settlement, the school board will regain its authority within a month if it makes certain unspecified changes to its operating provisions. A clause has been removed from the teacher contract allowing dismissal at will, and teachers have been assured their pay will not be cut, although no raises are expected.

A representative of the Bureau of Indian Affairs will be in Fort Hall this week to assist with the school improvement plan, the tribal attorney said.

Tribal Chairwoman Nancy Murillo conceded that unsubstantiated e-mail allegations of improper use of the computer system and other improprieties sparked the current troubles. But she said there were other concerns as well, concerns that interim Superintendent Brenda Honena described only as “financial and contractual issues.”

Bias by some tribal parents and leaders against white people has been alleged.

“That has been said openly that white people are not wanted there,” Galindo said. “This has been traumatic for the teachers. This is our home.”