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Westview High government and history teacher Bert Stafford with students

(Courtesy of Jesus Reyes)

CORRECTION APPENDED

Bert Stafford is a passionate government teacher whom many students credit with their success at Westview High and in college, but he failed to renew his teaching license and will lose his job on Jan. 13 unless the Beaverton School District breaks procedures.

“It‘s my fault that I’m in this position,” Stafford said. “I always thought I needed continuing education, not coursework. I thought, wrongly, that I was fulfilling the requirements.”

But Stafford said the district is not following its own practice, which would allow him to take enough unpaid leave to meet licensure requirements, essentially holding his job for him until he’s able to finish the required coursework. By law, a teacher must be licensed in Oregon.

Stafford, 65, has a law degree from George Mason University and a master's degree in education from Lewis & Clark College, but he needs six college credits in education-related courses to keep his license, according to the Teacher Standards and Practices Commission. He has taken three AP U.S. History Summer Institute courses but those counted for continuing education.

The district has no school board policy related to giving teachers unpaid time to meet licensure requirements. It’s up to the human resources department, said Sue Robertson, chief human resources officer.

“We have the discretion to grant employees unpaid leave,” she said. “We’ll often approve it for circumstances beyond the employee’s control. We do not approve leave for employees because they have failed to fulfill their responsibilities.”

Robertson cited examples of granting unpaid leave, such as someone running out of paid sick leave or new teachers awaiting final grades to get their license. Sometimes a one-year unpaid leave is granted for an “exceptional opportunity,” such as a spouse temporarily working overseas.

Stafford, who has taught in the district for 10 years, has officially requested unpaid leave for the month of January, which is the amount of time he believes it will take to acquire the college credit through online courses.

He plans to take his case to the school board on Jan. 13.

Stafford spent 23 years as a civil attorney before choosing a teaching career, but he will undoubtedly face a difficult argument. Both the school district and Teachers Standards and Practices pointed to the nine years he had to meet the requirements.

Teacher Standards and Practices Commission verified that it sent him letters in 2006, 2009 and gave him 120 days to get the needed coursework after his license expired in August. Beaverton School District alerted him as well.

But Stafford said there are extenuating circumstances in his case, which is among the reasons the district has granted unpaid leave for other teachers. In his case, it was a misinterpretation of the requirements.

“Why are they exercising the policy with such a lack of flexibility?” he asked. “I teach government and history, and I think this is a very interesting case in political ethics. At some point, bureaucrats have to exercise discretion.”

He’s got the backing of dozens, if not hundreds, of students.

Westview senior Jackie Salzinger started an online petition after learning Stafford would lose his job. As of Thursday evening, it had close to 200 comments from students thanking him for inspiring them to be teachers, a paralegal or attend medical school. Many thanked him for the huge impact he made on their lives.

Lindsay Overhage, who is now a freshman at Harvard considering a major in economics and government policy, described Stafford as an incredible teacher. “I don’t think I would be nearly as interested in history or politics,” she said.

Overhage took a law class and AP U.S. History from Stafford. He was also the adviser for the Mock Trial Team she competed with during her time at Westview.

He is known for the humor he injects into his lectures and his ability to bring context to historic events with stories from his own life. He once took students to the state penitentiary in Salem where they talked with inmates about prison life, Overhage said.

As for Salzinger, “I’ve seen the profound positive impact Mr. Stafford has had on our school and, personally, I credit his U.S .History class I took freshman year for bringing out my work ethic and passion for politics that has defined my high school career ever since,” she said.

Salzinger is a Westview student representative to the district school board and she plans to take her concerns to the Monday meeting.

She didn’t have a lot of hope that the district would change its mind, but she said, “Worst case scenario, we’ve made the statement to the public, district and the state that this kind of bureaucracy is not in the best interest of the students.”

The students are one of the reasons Stafford said he’s fighting his termination.

“I’ve gotten some very kind emails from students who are less than enthusiastic about my going out,” he said.

Stafford’s job will end on Jan. 13, but he can reapply for it after he finishes his coursework, Robertson said.

Correction: Bert Stafford's license expired in August.



-- Wendy Owen