Not that long ago, Autumn Pippenburg wasn’t sure if she would be able to go to college and pursue a career in dentistry.
Without a lot of scholarship money, the Oxford High School senior simply couldn’t afford the higher education she wanted and needed.
Then she went to see Karen Logan, the career resource center coordinator at OHS.
‘I never felt worried about getting into college after I started talking to her,? Pippenburg said.
Logan immediately went to work and helped Pippenburg secure $11,000 worth of scholarships, allowing her to start Oakland University this fall.
‘Now, almost my entire first year of college is paid for because of her,? she said.
Pippenburg is just one of hundreds of students Logan has helped find scholarship money for over the years.
Unfortunately, she’s also one of the last students Logan will ever help.
On May 9, Logan was notified she’s being laid off at the end of this school year.
Shocked and saddened by the news, Pippenburg is fighting back by launching a petition drive to save Logan’s job.
The reasoning behind the layoff
To help offset the $1.4 million shortfall the district is facing with next year’s budget, Logan’s 30-hour-per-week position is being eliminated.
Superintendent Virginia Brennan-Kyro said eliminating Logan’s position will save the district $25,000 per year. A grant through the Oakland Intermediate School District covers Logan’s salary, social security and retirement.
‘The duties that were taken care of through that position are going to be shifted throughout the (counseling) department,? according to Nancy Kammer, director of human resources for Oxford Schools. ?(Students) will still be getting all of that information and assistance, but it will be through their counselors.?
Kammer said one counselor will ‘probably? be the ‘focus person? or overall coordinator concerning these redistributed duties.
‘The way it saves us money is we can take that $25,000 and rewrite the grant to offset the cost of one of our other personnel,? Brennan-Kyro explained. ‘For example, we have four counselors in that department, we’re going to rewrite those grant dollars to offset the cost of one of those counselors since they’re going to be the ones absorbing those duties.?
‘Specifically who and how much and when and where,? Brennan-Kyro said. ‘I don’t think those details have really been worked out yet.?
‘What we know is we’ve eliminated that career specialist position, we’re going to rewrite the grant, it’s going to save the district $25,000 and we’re going to reassign responsibilities,? the superintendent said. ‘The bottom-line is Karen Logan’s position is being eliminated, it’s going to save $25,000, that $25,000 is going to be used to offset the cost of one of the counselors. There’s going to be someone who’s kind of like the coordinator or point-guard. Specifically how the duties are going to be spread out has not been discussed.?
Logan’s value to students
This year alone Logan helped the Class of 2006 receive $750,000 in scholarships. During her five-year career at OHS, she helped students secure more than $4.6 million in scholarship money.
‘Before Mrs. Logan came here, they got not even half of what she’s been bringing in,? Pippenburg said.
Pippenburg said Logan is a proactive staff member the students can’t afford to lose.
Logan doesn’t wait for students to come to her about scholarships, she sends for them. ‘If they don’t show up at least once a week, she sends a pass (for them to come),? Pippenburg said. ‘She calls students in here and tells them ‘you need to apply for this.??
‘I don’t know how many (scholarships) I applied for because she made me,? Pippenburg added.
In addition to scholarships, Logan also coordinates on-site visits to OHS from college admissions representatives and military recruiters. The personal connections she’s forged have led to college application fees being waived for students and kept the scholarship dollars flowing.
‘Her job is very valuable,? Pippenburg said. ‘We would be nowhere if it wasn’t for her.?
Counselors aren’t enough
Having the counselors take over is ‘what scared me the most,? said Pippenburg. ‘The counselors don’t know that they’re doing. They do not get things done. If they have to take care of scholarship information on top of (class) schedules and all that, we’re not going to get as much money.?
With four counselors, each responsible for an average of 300 students, Pippenburg doesn’t see how they’re going to handle Logan’s job in addition to their own.
‘I just think they have too much going on,? she said. ‘My (class) schedule wasn’t even made out right.?
As her teaching assistant, Pippenburg’s witnessed first-hand how hard Logan works and how much she has to get done in a limited number of hours.
‘She’s busy all the time,? she said.
Logan’s 30-hour-a-week work limit has forced her to do work at home ‘just to keep up with everything.?
‘She can barely get everything done,? Pippenburg said. ‘How the heck is somebody who has hundreds of students under them going to be able to do this kind of stuff??
Without Logan serving as the point-person, renewing scholarships next year, like the ones from the Clarence E. Stanton Memorial Foundation, will be a ‘pain in the butt? for seniors graduating this year, according to Pippenburg. In addition to taking care of the more than 1,200 students at OHS, the four counselors will have to make time for former students like Pippenburg.
Making an appointment to see a counselor isn’t an easy task for enrolled students, so it’s going to be even more difficult for former students wishing to renew scholarships, she said. ‘By the time I get in, it could be gone,? Pippenburg said. ‘We’re doomed.?
But it’s next year’s seniors Pippenburg really feels sorry for if Logan is not around. ‘They’re going to lose out on a lot of money,? she said.
The petition to save Logan’s job
Pippenburg isn’t about to let go of Logan without a fight. That’s why she started a petition drive last week to save Logan’s job. Written as a letter to students and parents, the petition describes exactly why, in bold letters, ‘We need Mrs. Logan.?
So far, she’s collected 56 signatures and counting along with promises from prominent OHS seniors to write essays expressing their gratitude to Logan for all the scholarship money she helped secure.
Pippenburg hopes to present these petitions and essays to the Oxford Board of Education at the 7 p.m. Tuesday, May 23 meeting. The school board will next meet at OHS.
‘Anyone who feels they have a personal connection with her and wants to show up at the board meeting, that would be appreciated,? she said. ‘The more adults we have, the better off we are.?
Former school board member Helen Smith and Oxford resident Don Chadwick, who helps oversee The Clark Fund (a local scholarship source), will be at the meeting to speak on Logan’s behalf. ‘I think it’s as important as any other position there at school,? Smith said. ‘The amount of scholarship money she’s brought in to help these kids go to college is so important . . . I think the position’s needed.?

‘The duties that were taken care of through that position are going to be shifted throughout the (counseling) department,? according to Nancy Kammer, executive director of human resources for Oxford Schools. ?(Students) will still be getting all of that (scholarship) information and assistance, but it will be through their counselor.?
Kammer said one counselor will ‘probably? be the ‘focus person? or overall coordinator concerning these redistributed duties, but each student will see their individual counselor when it comes to scholarship information.
‘The way it saves us money is we can take that $25,000 and re-write the grant to offset the cost of one of our other personnel,? Brennan-Kyro explained. ‘For example, we have four counselors in that department, we’re going to rewrite those grant dollars to offset the cost of one of those counselors since they’re going to be the ones absorbing those duties.?
‘Specifically who and how much and when and where,? Brennan-Kyro said. ‘I don’t think those details have really been worked out yet.?
‘What we know is we’ve eliminated that career specialist position, we’re going to rewrite the grant, it’s going to save the district $25,000 and we’re going to re-assign responsibilities,? the superintendent said. ‘The bottom-line is Karen Logan’s position is being eliminated, it’s going to save $25,000, that $25,000 is going to be used to offset the cost of one of the counselors. There’s going to be someone who’s kind of like the coordinator or point-guard. Specifically how the duties are going to be spread out has not been discussed.?
Logan’s value to students
This year alone Logan helped the Class of 2006 receive $750,000 in scholarships. During her five-year career at OHS, she helped students secure more than $4.6 million in scholarship money.
‘Before Mrs. Logan came here, they got not even half of what she’s been bringing in,? Pippenburg said.
Pippenburg said Logan is a proactive staff member the students can’t afford to lose.
Logan doesn’t wait for students to come to her about scholarships, she sends for them.
‘If they don’t show up at least once a week, she sends a pass (for them to come),? Pippenburg said. ‘She calls students in here and tells them ‘you need to apply for this.??
‘I don’t know how many (scholarships) I applied for because she made me,? Pippenburg added.
In addition to scholarships, Logan also coordinates the on-site visits to OHS from college admissions respresentatives and military recruiters.
‘Her job is very valuable,? Pippenburg said. ‘We would be nowhere if it wasn’t for her.?
Pippenburg says the counseling department can’t do the job
Having the counselors take over is ‘what scared me the most,? said Pippenburg. ‘The counselors don’t know that they’re doing. They do not get things done. If they have to take care of scholarship information on top of (class) schedules and all that, we’re not going to get as much money.?
With four counselors, each responsible for an average of 300 students, Pippenburg doesn’t see how they’re going to handle Logan’s job in addition to their own.
‘I just think they have too much going on,? she said. ‘My (class) schedule wasn’t even made out right.?
As her teaching assistant, Pippenburg’s witnessed first-hand how hard Logan works and how much she has to get done in a limited number of hours.
‘She’s busy all the time,? she said.
Logan’s part-time status has forced her to do work at home ‘just to keep up with everything.?
‘She can barely get everything done,? Pippenburg said. ‘How the heck is somebody who has hundreds of students under them going to be able to do this kind of stuff??
Without Logan serving as the point-person, renewing scholarships next year, like the ones from the Clarence E. Stanton Memorial Foundation, will be a ‘pain in the butt? for seniors graduating this year, according to Pippenburg.
In addition to taking care of the more than 1,200 students at OHS, the four counselors will have to make time for former students like Pippenburg.
Making an appointment to see a counselor isn’t an easy task for enrolled students, so it’s going to be even more difficult for former students wishing to renew scholarships, she said.
‘By the time I get in, it could be gone,? Pippenburg said. ‘We’re doomed.?
But it’s next year’s seniors, the Class of 2007, Pippenburg really feels sorry for if Logan is not around.
‘They’re going to lose out on a lot of money,? she said.
The petition to save Logan’s job
Pippenburg isn’t about to let go of Logan without a fight.
That’s why she started a petition drive last week to save Logan’s job. Written as a letter to students and parents, the petition describes exactly why ‘We need Mrs. Logan.?
So far, she’s collected 48 signatures and counting along with promises from prominent OHS seniors to write essays expressing their gratitude to Logan for all the scholarship money she helped secure.
Pippenburg hopes to present these petitions and essays to the Oxford Board of Education at the Tuesday, May 23 meeting.
‘Anyone who feels they have a personal connection with her and wants to show up at the board meeting, that would be appreciated,? she said. ‘The more adults we have, the better off we are.?
Former Oxford School Board member Helen Smith and Oxford resident Don Chadwick, who helps oversee The Clark Fund (a local scholarship source), will be at the meeting to speak on Logan’s behalf.
‘I think it’s as important as any other position there at school,? Smith said. ‘The amount of scholarship money she’s brought in to help these go to college is so important . . . I think (the position’s) needed.?