In the March 7 edition of the Whidbey News-Times, Rick Schulte, superintendent of Oak Harbor public schools, is quoted as saying, “It’s way too hard to fire a teacher.” Whereas it is true that the process to terminate a public school teacher is lengthy and complicated, it is not true that a teacher cannot be fired.

Contractual and legal procedures protect teachers by providing due process, mandatory representation, and appeal. The superintendent’s administrators and lawyers need to prove accusations while observing rules competently. As every American enjoys, our constitutional jurisprudence system is an adversarial system, whereby the accused is presumed innocent and the accuser bears the burden of proof.

Dr. Schulte does fairness a disservice by generalizing an attack on hard-won and necessary safeguards of his own teachers who may face accusations. Sometimes, accusations are false, and when they are false, teachers seldom recover their reputation, their ability to do their job. Since society places extraordinary responsibilities and scrutiny on public school teachers — rightfully so, considering the fragile clientele we serve — so, too, do we provide strong — but not insurmountable — protections to public school teachers who are accused.

The teacher in question is on administrative leave. This is necessary, prudent, and fair. If the accused is guilty, he will no longer be teaching. If he is not guilty, he will be the victim of an unproven or false accusation.

What would Dr. Schulte prefer? Pitchforks and torches?

Peter Szalai, president

Oak Harbor Education Association