 By Dave Kiffer June 09, 2006
I wanted to thank John Goucher for his excellent letter regarding the demotion of high school principal Larry Eklund and I want to second his assessment of the situation. Since John is a Kayhi parent, I believe he has a better grasp of the "facts on the ground" than - apparently - the school board and the administration. If one believes that "what goes around, comes around" then it is clear that the individuals responsible for this action will eventually have to answer for their abysmal treatment of someone who obviously cared more about the school system than it did about him. That won't necessarily help the Eklund family right now, but I want them to know that there are people in Ketchikan who were upset by - and will remember - the shabby way in which they have been treated. That Larry Eklund gave so much to the Kayhi community at a time when his own family was suffering through several serious problems only serves to emphasize his commitment to Kayhi I have "lived" through more than a dozen different Kayhi principals. Some were good, some were terrible. Quite a few were just marking time till retirement. Larry Eklund was trying to make a difference in the lives of our kids and I think he generally succeeded. Larry Eklund is also one of a very, very small handful of people who I have seen stand up in public and advocate for the greater good of the school system. Most people just tend to advocate for their school or their program. Larry has always supported the bigger picture . It's a shame that the responsible parties will now be able to hide behind the protective shroud of "personnel issues" and not have to explain or even justfiy this undefensible action. Everyone should be held accountable for their actions. Dave Kiffer About: Dave Kiffer is a long time resident of Ketchikan. He is a freelance writer whose articles & columns are published regularly on SitNews. He is also a member of the Ketchikan Borough Assembly.
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