La Pine parents gather, voice concerns over Park & Rec Board’s sudden decision to resign, terminate district staff
La PINE, Ore. (KTVZ) – Now that the entire La Pine Park & Recreation District Board has resigned and have terminated all staff effective October 20th, where does that leave parents who have invested time, money and energy into enrolling their kids into sports programs orchestrated by the district?
Before moving on, there are still unanswered questions over how we got here, and where do we go moving forward. A gathering took place Wednesday evening at Frontier Heritage Park to share their concerns and talk about how to move forward.
Briana Richter, concerned soccer parent:
“I've been hearing a lack of confidence from the parents. I've been hearing a lot of parents concerned that their money is going to where it's supposed to. I'm hearing a lot of lack of transparency. That's turning into a lot of rumors. And I overheard another mom saying that she was waiting for a $600 refund for football and she hasn't gotten it, and other parents were telling her not to count on it.”
Amber Stilwell, concerned football parent:
“Now, I was very disappointed to hear that they were going to just cut it completely midseason. My son was really disappointed. This is his first year playing, and he and the other kids have really rallied together. and they're such good examples of what we should be as a community.
Voice of Jeff:
“I'm extremely angry. I mean, realistically, I mean, I think that's a valid, valid feeling at this point. We tried our best. I've spent hundreds of hours in these in various programs. I've committed my time to football at this point. now, especially now basketball, I ref, I did everything I could to make sure the program came back, and could be run. We ran a successful program, but we still have those dissenters that just wanted to try to tear it down.”
The majority of parents KTVZ spoke to say even though they are looking forward to new management, they need to see better communication between the La Pine Park and Rec District and parents. Also, transparency of how the funds are being distributed to each sports program - that needs to be top priority.
