Board Recognition Letter

Monday, January 04, 2021

Dear Neah-Kah-Nie School District Staff, Students, Parents, and Community:

The Neah-Kah-Nie School District will join the other 196 school districts throughout Oregon to celebrate January as, School Board Recognition Month

Our seven school board members spend countless hours volunteering to provide the highest level of  education for our students and a quality working environment for staff.  During the COVID pandemic, school board members have actively listened to parents, students, and community members to make difficult and wise decisions to ensure the safety of students and staff.  Board members attend monthly school board meetings, participate in trainings, serve on committees, and constantly communicate with parents, students, and staff.   

Board members also serve as the corporate board of directors for one of Tillamook County’s largest employers. Celebrating School Board Recognition Month is one way to say thank you for everything school board members do.

School board members represent their fellow citizens’ views and priorities in the complex enterprise of maintaining and operating the Neah-Kah-Nie School District.  Each board member is elected to a four-year term by registered voters. They also reinforce the principle of local control over public education, which is an important, highly valued aspect of education in Oregon.  

The school board’s main goal, is to support student achievement.  To achieve that goal, the board focuses on the following needs:

  • Creating a vision for what parents and citizens want their school district to become and how to make student achievement the top priority; 
  • Setting standards for what students must learn and be able to do; 
  • Assessing whether schools achieve their goals, and whether students are learning; 
  • Accounting for the outcomes of decisions and by tracking progress and reporting results; 
  • Aligning the use of the district’s human and financial resources; 
  • Creating a safe and orderly climate where students can learn and teachers can teach; 
  • Collaborating to solve common problems and to support common successes; 
  • Focusing on continuous improvement by questioning, examining, revising, refining and revisiting issues related to student achievement. 

Neah-Kah-Nie School District has an active, well trained, and highly effective board who give of their time for the betterment of our students and staff.  Neah-Kah-Nie School District’s proud School Board members are: Board Chair, Carol Mahoney, six years of board service; Pat Ryan, Vice Chair, twenty-two years; Terry Kelly, fourteen years; Michele Aeder, five years; Landon Myers, four years, Sandy Tyrer, three years; and Kari Fliesher, two years of service. 

Board of Education meetings are at 6:30 p.m., on the second Monday of the month.  Until further notice, board meetings are virtual, see the school district’s website for the Zoom invite.  Contact information for the Board of Education is: https://nknsd.org/school-board/board-members/ 

We honor our board members during January to show appreciation; however, we recognize their contributions reflect a year-round effort. The next time you see a Neah-Kah-Nie School Board member, please express your gratitude by saying, THANK YOU!

Be safe,

Paul Erlebach, Superintendent

Neah-Kah-Nie School District

paule@nknsd.org

503-355-3501