Turmoil In Umatilla High Boosters Leads To Mass Resignations

    Rancorous times within the Umatilla High School Athletic Boosters came to a head-on Monday night, with three of the group's four officers resigning. President Sandy Gamble, Treasurer Kristen McCall, and Secretary Jennifer Brown all vacated their posts at the end of a meeting that showcased philosophical differences about how the organization should run.
    The meeting was attended by an estimated 35 people.
    "James wants it. He can have it," Gamble said of vice president James Roach, who will take over as president and solicited new officers at the end of Monday's nearly two-hour meeting.
    The boosters are charged with raising nearly all the funds necessary to operate sports at UHS, hosting a variety of fundraisers to meet an estimated $50,000 per year need. How to raise money, and how to spend it, appear to be at the heart of the organization’s split, added with the school’s administration’s desire to raise more money in the future for athletics.
    On Monday night, simple discussions over spending a few hundred dollars would turn into extended debates over procedures and policies, and an eventual vote to reimburse the school an estimated $5,000 for an overage in purchasing new football uniforms split the officers from members present, with the officers fearing setting a precedence of paying 100% for uniforms even when the final price is thousands more than initially submitted, and the members present pushing for maximum support.
    “This has been the worst experience I have ever had,” said McCall, who has served on the board for several years, of the current strife.
    UHS principal Brent Frazier urged the group to find common ground.
    “Are we suffering from a lack of unity? Yes we are. Everybody in this room shares the same heart,” before adding “We’re in the weeds.”
    Once the resignations occurred, Frazier thanked the officers for their service.
    “I know what it is like to have a thankless job.”