Roseburg Superintendent Larry Parsons has announced that he has recently received two legal opinions advising the district not to spend precious funds fighting the mandate that all Oregon schools eliminate the use of Native American mascots.
The legal opinions Parsons received warn the district the committee was probably within its jurisdiction and a legal challenge to the order will probably fail.
Parsons says the fight isn't over yet and the news is not a surprise to anyone at the district offices trying to find a way to keep the Indian nickname at Roseburg High.
The debate began last spring when the Oregon Department of Education voted that schools will lose state funding if they do not change by 2017.
Parsons and Roseburg High sympathists dug in their heels and promised to fight the decision on every possible front. One of those was to issue a legal challenge to the unfunded mandate. A big part of that argument is that the ODE does not have the jurisdiction to force schools to change their nickname.
This recent revelation from Parsons says they do.
I have defended the tradition and rationale behind Roseburg's use of the name Indians because of the effort local officials have put in over the years to be respectful and professional. But like the forces that change coal into diamonds, it’s looking like Roseburg will simply be forced to comply. Few people here are willing to change their chemical makeup so easily, however, no matter how significant that outside force happens to be.
One (last?) card for Parsons to play is to convince state legislators from the Roseburg area to take up the cause and fight for the Indian nickname in Salem. Much like the fight over increasing timber production, local lawmakers fight against a more liberal majority at the state capital. Once again, Portland and Eugene (where few schools happen to use Native American nicknames) will most likely have the loudest voice on this issue.
The argument there will be that the Roseburg school district (along with the 14 others in this situation) does not have the estimated $350,000 it will take to change uniforms, gym floors and other elements where the name is displayed.
Unfortunately, the district cannot afford those changes and also cannot afford to lose state funding, no matter how heavy-handed the order from the ODE may be. And now Parsons is being told the district cannot afford to continue the legal fight.
In other words, it's a tough argument for Roseburg to win.
Parsons admits that no one on the board and no one in the district front office ever agreed to spend any money on this case. So far, the only cost appears to be in phone calls to other officials and gas money to Salem to attend these hearings.
Another strike against the future of the Indians nickname is that Parsons admits he is the only Superintendent fighting the state. In 2000, when Lee Paterson was Superintendent, he was one of several school officials arguing to keep their nicknames. That support appears to have eroded. Parsons said it looks like the other districts "have given up the fight".
Right now, Parsons is in the position of having to balance the emotional connection the people of Roseburg have to the nickname against his responsibility to do what is best for the district.
Unfortunately for Indian fans, the timing could not be worse. Larry Parsons has a couple of much bigger fish to fry in trying to determine which grade school to close next year and whether to float a tax levy for schools.
Parsons goal is to always be able to look locals in the eye and say "I did everything I could to make Roseburg schools strong despite the forces at work around (and against) us."
That means exploring every possible way to save the nickname, but not blowing a bunch of money the district does not have to fight a battle that he (re: the school district) will eventually lose.
Parsons is alone at the Hold 'Em table with a dwindling stack and a house full of hungry kids. His wife is in the car with the engine running and he just lifted the corners on an offsuit 2-9 combo.
Across from him is the Oregon Department of Education. They are high rollers with unlimited bank and they keep going all in. A crowd is watching, telling Parsons he should call even though the odds are very, very slim.
Could there be a full house in the flop? Yes. Is that the most responsible move considering the other places he and his money should be going? No.
The glory of beating the establishment would be spectacular, but Parsons has to make the next move and he does not get more chips by sending a Facebook invitation to a buddy.
I don’t want to give up any more than anyone else but if the professional legal opinion is not to fight, the most responsible decision for the students is to cash out, leave the table and spend dwindling resources where they are badly needed.
At some point, no matter how badly we want to tell an overbearing state committee where to put their recommendation, you have to admit it's probably time to kiss the Indian nickname good bye.
No one can blame Parsons or the school district for not trying. It simply becomes an issue of influence. More pressure is coming from Salem then Roseburg can continue to resist.
Roseburg fans still have one more move left. Name the team something clever like Bureaucrats or Unfunded Mandates for the 2017-18 school year in protest while a new image is developed for the school district. Then, name the team something catchy and cool and move on.
The only other option comes at too high a price.
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