In school, our children face peer pressure, bullying and harassment.  Teachers and principals work to improve school climate in order to reduce or eliminate the environment in which these negative behaviors thrive.

But what about when the peer pressure, bullying and harassment is being aimed at school staff members by other members of the staff?

This year, a hostile environment has been created in some of schools in the Northshore School District over the school-board elections. Northshore School Board Director Districts 2 and 3 are both on the ballot. The teacher’s union has endorsed and financed the campaigns of two candidates, B-Z Davis and Janet Quinn.

I’ve heard that some school employees who have chosen to support Davis and Quinn’s opponents (Dawn McCravey and Joe Marshall, respectively) have been harassed and intimidated by some of their colleagues. Such a hostile work environment for our school employees can have a negative impact on our students. What happens in the staff lunchroom can affect the classroom.

The practice of teacher’s unions paying for a school-board candidate’s campaign carries with it negative implications. Earlier this year, Anne Bryant, the executive director of the National School Board Association, said, “I think that unions buying the school board’s seat is just plain wrong.” School-board members vote on district budgets and employee contracts. It is a conflict of interest for any candidate for school board to accept the endorsement of, and sizable donations from, any employee group, such as the teacher’s union or its president.

John Mitchell, Bothell