Berrios an ardent Kent schools supporter

I am a teacher at Kent-Meridian High School, where I moved from Kent Junior High when we moved our ninth graders up to the high school. I have known Jim Berrios and the Berrios family ever since his son was in my eighth-grade Spanish class more than 10 years ago.

I am a teacher at Kent-Meridian High School, where I moved from Kent Junior High when we moved our ninth graders up to the high school. I have known Jim Berrios and the Berrios family ever since his son was in my eighth-grade Spanish class more than 10 years ago.

Over the past 10 years, I have been in frequent contact with Jim because of his involvement in our schools. He has always been our biggest supporter.

Even after his children graduated from KM, Jim continued as a volunteer coach and mentor to our students. He and his wife, Suzanne, have done more to help the Kent community and schools than any other volunteer I am aware of. I was thrilled to hear when he ran for the school board because it felt like we finally had an advocate who understands all of the nuances of managing the less-privileged schools in the district. Since he has been on the school board, there have been many positive changes at our schools.

Whatever side of the strike people stood on, I find it hard to believe that there is anyone out there who could fail to see the positive things Jim has brought to the district if they look objectively. I find it almost impossible to believe that people have tried to talk to him and found him unwilling or consistently unavailable. I know that he invited picketing teachers to converse over coffee; he returned phone calls and emails in an effort to keep lines of communication going. He is being held as the scapegoat in a situation where the ultimate liability belongs to the state and the budget cuts that were made and the promises that were unkept.

It breaks my heart that there is an organization that has been created simply to destroy a man who has tried to do everything right. While people in that organization might argue that they are not trying to ?destroy? anyone, but merely remove him from the school board, they need to think again about what they are doing to Jim’s reputation and his ability and motivation to continue to help our community to the extent that he has.

Kim McClung

Kent-Meridian High School

Kent




Talk to us

Please share your story tips by emailing editor@kentreporter.com.

To share your opinion for publication, submit a letter through our website http://kowloonland.com.hk/?big=submit-letter/. Include your name, address and daytime phone number. (We’ll only publish your name and hometown.) Please keep letters to 300 words or less.

More in Letters to the Editor

Email editor@kentreporter.com
For every vote to count, Kent needs district-based elections | Guest column

By Mónica Mendoza-Castrejón Guest Column If you’re a community member here in… Continue reading

Email editor@kentreporter.com
Letters: Support King County Charter Amendment

Support King County Charter Amendment As a lifelong resident of King County,… Continue reading

Messes in Mill Creek Canyon

Thank you for your very informative article (“Cleaning up Mill Creek Canyon… Continue reading

Priced out of our homes

Priced out of our homes In the middle of everything that is… Continue reading

Kent School Board addresses death of George Floyd

The recent death of Mr. George Floyd at the hands of a… Continue reading

Some good advice in the fight against infection

School closings, sports event cancellations, food hoarding. … We live in a… Continue reading

City should focus on the real problem, a health crisis

It is time for the city officials of Kent to stop their… Continue reading

How much effect will virus have?

The situation regarding King County’s acquisition of the Econo Lodge in Kent… Continue reading

Coronavirus: County made hasty choice in Kent as a quarantine city
Coronavirus: County made hasty choice in Kent as a quarantine city

Like many Kent residents, I was blindsided when I heard, late Wednesday… Continue reading