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Chief Leschi Schools lay off 50

Chief Leschi Schools Superintendent Amy Eveskcige stands in the hallway of her school in April 17, 2015. A year into leading the Puyallup tribal schools, 50 people were laid off at the schools to help improve the schools’ flagging academic performance, tribal spokesman John Weymer said Thursday.
Chief Leschi Schools Superintendent Amy Eveskcige stands in the hallway of her school in April 17, 2015. A year into leading the Puyallup tribal schools, 50 people were laid off at the schools to help improve the schools’ flagging academic performance, tribal spokesman John Weymer said Thursday. Peter Haley Staff file, 2015

Chief Leschi Schools are laying off 50 people in an effort to improve the academic performance there, Puyallup tribal spokesman John Weymer said Thursday.

Included in the 50 people — 27 percent of the tribal elementary and secondary schools’ joint workforce — are 22 certified staff, including teachers, counselors and social workers, Weymer said.

“The School Board is going in a different direction,” Weymer said. “We’ve had very low standards in academics and need to move in another direction to bring those numbers up.”

In June 2015, Amy Eveskcige took over as superintendent of the schools, where the combined 890-member student body is 98 percent Native American. The Tacoma native is the first Puyallup tribal member to run the schools.

The employees were notified within the last week and will continue to work through the end of the school year, Weymer said.

Kenny Ocker: 253-597-8627, @KennyOcker

This story was originally published May 19, 2016 at 5:50 PM with the headline "Chief Leschi Schools lay off 50."

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