I’m a Springfield High School graduate, a certified nursing assistant, a second-generation Mexican immigrant and working class. I’m writing because our schools should be the most stable place in a child’s life, not another source of upheaval.

In the middle of the school year, the Springfield School Board voted 3-2 to approve a $2.34 million midyear reduction in force, cutting 27 licensed full-time equivalent positions effective after semester break. Lookout Eugene-Springfield identified board Chair Heather Quaas-Annsa and board members Ken Kohl and Nicole De Graff as the deciding “yes” votes. The district has acknowledged that middle and high schools will face schedule changes and staffing disruption as a result.

Layoffs are not just a budget tool, they are a decision to break relationships midstream. This hits every kind of household in Lane County. Working families juggling schedules, students who rely on routine, kids in special education who need consistent support, multilingual families navigating systems in a second language, rural families already stretched by transportation, and LGBTQ students who depend on trusted adults for safety and belonging.

To educators, we see you. Teachers and school staff are not interchangeable parts. They hold classrooms together, carry community history and build the trust that helps students learn. Cutting jobs midyear tells students that stability is negotiable and tells workers they are expendable.

Board members are elected to serve the public. You work for the people. The people do not work for you. When the board’s first and loudest solution is midyear layoffs, the community has a right to demand accountability and better leadership.

Heather Quaas-Annsa, Ken Kohl and Nicole De Graff should resign. Springfield needs a board that plans earlier, communicates honestly and exhausts better options before choosing the most disruptive path for students and working families.

Abraham Constantino
Springfield