RE: Explanation please! By Kasia Polanska March 03, 2014 Thank you Gina Palmer for taking the time to read my letter regarding the firing of the KTB artistic director and for responding to it. I agree that the KTB is a wonderful organization and I feel fortunate that we have the ballet school in our community. However, I respectfully disagree that the actions taken by its Board are above all criticism. I feel that parents like me, who support KTB by getting their children involved in ballet, paying tuition, and voting for the board members, have a right to know the reasons for its decisions. As a matter of fact, I am assuming that you were not given the reason either and do not know what happened behind the closed doors. Before writing letters to KTB and to Sitnews, I had investigated this matter on my own and talked to a number of individuals with knowledge of the situation. Based on this information, that is bound to be incomplete, I concluded that the manner in which the artistic director was fired appeared to be unfair. I became involved simply because I strongly believe in treating others with dignity and respect for their human rights and professionalism, and I want my community to espouse these ideals as well. Your comment on gossip is obviously not my intent. I have a lot more questions about this case than I have asked in my letter. I agree that under some circumstances, there may be reasons that would make it necessary to fire someone if they are not doing their job. Otherwise, it is not fair to make someone move to Ketchikan from across the country and to fire them after just a few months because he or she did not seem to fit in. I simply wish that she was given more time to resolve any issues that may have arisen. Clearly, her dismissal sends a horrible message to the young KTB students that it is ok to get rid of someone without giving them the chance to address and resolve disagreements and conflict. Since Sitnews published my letter, I have been approached by several parents and relatives of KTB dancers who have thanked me for raising these concerns. Obviously, there are others who are puzzled and concerned about what happened, who prefer not to state this publicly for a variety of reasons. Lastly, before you judge people for not volunteering and not sitting on boards, I would ask that you please think about all the single parents with multiple children who work several jobs to make ends meet. Sitting on boards is a great and valuable service to the community, but it is also a privilege that not all can afford. Respectfully, Kasia Polanska
Received February 24, 2014 - Published March 03, 2014 Related Viewpoint:
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