We, the members of the Almond community, hereby voice our displeasure over the appointment of YET another principal for our school-the third in as many years. It is the opinion of the undersigned that our current acting principal, Joe McCreary, was passed over for the permanent position against the desires of the majority of our parents, teachers and students. For the past seven months, Joe McCreary has bent over backwards to serve the needs of the Almond community, and the Almond community has embraced him. He has won over the entire faculty, a school full of parents and the hearts of all the students. He has dealt well with some tough issues, taken a firm stand when needed, and tirelessly poured his soul into every Almond activity, function and effort. Throughout his tenure he has remained highly responsive and approachable to all who encounter him. How could anyone be more qualified than that While the new candidate has an impressive resume and perhaps more experience on paper, that should not trump a successful and proven track record in a position. Ask anyone at Almond and it becomes clear that Joe McCreary is a good fit for the school. Furthermore, it is the opinion of many that with the loss of our long-term principal Jeff Baier in June 2007, coupled with recent boundary changes and the subsequent impending loss of many dedicated Almond families as a result, the upheaval of another enormous change is NOT in the best interest of our school. In addition, the district\'s decision to deny him the permanent position has caused many parents and now our valuable teachers to feel very disenfranchised-the same teachers who are already disheartened by salary freezes and looming budget cuts. Not to mention that these actions fly in the face of a recent program to encourage teachers to move up the ladder to administration. Until now, Joe was a perfect poster child for that program. For reasons stated above, many at Almond now feel that the district\'s \"agenda\" is not in sync with ours. Our students are not numbers to be parceled out as the district sees fit, they are not just test scores and ESL ratios, and they should not have to suffer any more needless disruption to further a district agenda we do not support. The undersigned respectfully request that the appointment of a principal for 2008-9 be readdressed in a manner that more accurately reflects the wishes of the community it will directly impact.

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