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3A THE DAILY ASTORIAN • MONDAY, APRIL 4, 2016 &DQQRQ%HDFK$FDGHP\VWLOO ¿JKWLQJIRUDIDOORSHQLQJ Charter school claims district VHWµDUWL¿FLDO barriers’ By HILLARY BORRUD Capital Bureau By LYRA FONTAINE EO Media Group CANNON BEACH — Cannon Beach Academy rep- resentatives said they were “extremely disappointed” by the Seaside School District’s decision to withdraw approval for the charter school’s open- ing this fall. They say the district erected XQUHDVRQDEOH ³DUWL¿FLDO EDU- riers” to the academy’s opera- tion and should reconsider the decision. Eight academy board members objected in a letter received by the school district last week. The school district withdrew approval last month based on the academy’s fail- XUH WR PHHW ¿QDQFLDO HQUROO- ment and English as a Second Language requirements agreed upon in October. The conditions, which were to be met by March, were intended to ensure that WKHDFDGHP\ZRXOGEH³¿QDQ- cially, structurally and aca- demically ready” to open in the fall. While acknowledging these conditions had not been met, academy board mem- bers asked the school district to “accept a certain level of uncertainty” relating to enroll- ment and staff. The academy board offered to meet with the district to “fur- ther discuss how we can move forward to commence Cannon Beach operations for the 2016- 17 school year.” The public charter school is prepared to appeal the district’s decision and seek sponsorship by the Oregon State Board of Education if an agreement is not reached by April 11, board members wrote. /RQJURDG In 2013, community resi- dents sought to bring a charter school to Cannon Beach, with the goal of hosting kindergart- QHUVWKURXJK¿IWKJUDGHUV The school district denied the academy’s proposal several times, citing the lack of an ade- quate location and not enough startup funds. In October, the Seaside School District board of direc- Oil group drops bid to repeal fuel standard EO Media Group David Vonada, of Tolovana Architects, presents the tenta- tive site plan of the Cannon Beach Academy’s temporary location, 171 Sunset Blvd., to the planning commission in 2015. tors unanimously approved a three-year contract with Can- non Beach Academy. Under the conditions, the charter school would serve at least 44 NLQGHUJDUWHQ DQG ¿UVWJUDGH VWXGHQWV LWV ¿UVW \HDU 0RUH grades could be added over time. The charter school planned to open in fall at a temporary location at 171 Sunset Blvd., in a space that once housed the Cannon Beach Athletic Club. (QUROOPHQWIHOOVKRUW SALEM — An oil industry group announced Thursday it will abandon a bid to get voters to weaken or repeal Oregon’s low-car- bon fuel standard. The Oregon Fuels Asso- FLDWLRQ KDG ¿OHG WKUHH LQL- tiatives targeting the law for the November bal- lot, but Paul Romain, the group’s executive director, said it would have been dif- ¿FXOW WR VXFFHHG ZLWK WKDW strategy. “The problem with any initiative is you’re ask- ing people to ... vote ‘yes,’ to vote ‘no,’” Romain said. “It’s a very confusing message.” The Oregon Fuels Association represents gas stations and other fuel distributors. Instead of a ballot initia- tive, Romain said the fuel industry will push lawmak- ers to make a 2017 trans- portation funding plan con- tingent upon changes or a repeal of the fuel stan- dard. That’s what Repub- licans did last year, and they could do so again next year because the Legisla- ture can only raise the state JDV WD[ ZLWK D WKUHH¿IWKV supermajority. “We just felt the stronger position we had was saying, ‘OK, you want money for a transportation package, then work with us,’” Romain said. A repeal of the low-car- bon fuel standard was part of a transportation fund- ing plan negotiated last year by Gov. Kate Brown and a bipartisan group of lawmak- ers that included state Sen. Betsy Johnson, D-Scap- poose. That deal died, how- ever, after the state Depart- ment of Transportation The academy also objected to the school district’s condi- tion of 22 students enrolled in a district kindergarten class. Superintendent Doug Dougherty and Superinten- dent-elect Sheila Roley said without enough students, the district would be unable to make necessary adjustments in programs, class size and VWDI¿QJ The academy also lacked a state-approved English lan- guage learners program by µ$UWL¿FLDOEDUULHUV¶ In their letter, the academy proposing an outdated pro- board said they did not view gram, Dougherty and Roley the district’s conditions as rea- wrote. According to academy sonable or appropriate when adopted. Board members were members, the academy had dismayed the district did not developed a program using include the academy in review- information from the Oregon ing and addressing the condi- Department of Education that they “reasonably believed” to tions before board approval. However, the academy be state-approved, board mem- trusted the school district bers wrote. The error is “imma- “would be reasonable” in con- terial” and “easily corrected.” Academy board members sidering the conditions. The academy stated the said the district’s decision was conditions were imposed to “neither reasonable or lawful.” Despite the March decision ³HUHFWDUWL¿FLDOEDUULHUV´WRWKH to revoke approval, Dougherty charter school. “We trust we are incorrect and Roley stated that the dis- in drawing this conclusion,” trict remained committed to seeing the charter school up board members wrote. One condition required the and running and that Cannon school have “all the money Beach Academy could begin they need for the 2016-17 operating in fall 2017, if it school year” in the bank, as meets the conditions. well as a 10-percent contin- gency, amounting to about $450,000. The academy had $145,798 CON CEAL by March 1, falling more than CONCEAL CARRY CARRY PERM IT $300,000 short. PERMIT CLASS CLASS Academy board members Oregon – O rego n 34 - U States tah said the school “has reason- - Valid Ap ril 21 st Utah V ali d 35 States ably and appropriately demon- 1 PM o r 6 PM VWUDWHG¿QDQFLDOVWDELOLW\EDVHG Best W estern : 5 5 5 Ha m b urg Ave, Asto ria on its cash at hand, pledges, O OR/Utah–valid R/U ta h— va lid in in WA W A $80 $80 or o r Oregon O reg o n only o n ly $4 5 $45 and the projected revenue that | Firea rm Tra in in gN W @ gm a il.com w w w . Firea rm Tra in in gN W . com shauncurtain.com ~ shauncurtain@gmail.com will come from public funding 36 0-921-2071 360-921-2071 of the charter school.” revealed the plan would not achieve the promised reduc- tions in greenhouse gas emis- sions, which was a sticking point for environmentalists. 10 percent reduction The fuel standard is sup- posed to reduce carbon emis- sions from transportation by 10 percent over a decade through a combination of cleaner biofu- els blended into gas and diesel and a carbon credit exchange to reward owners of electric charging stations and other alternative fuel infrastructure. Lawmakers passed a bill last year to make the system per- manent, and it took effect in January. Even before the law, Ore- gon already required a 10 per- cent ethanol blend in gasoline and a 5 percent biodiesel blend in diesel. “So far dozens of businesses, from a truck stop in Eugene to IRONVPDNLQJIXHOIURPODQG¿OO fumes, have signed up to gen- erate credits from the sale of clean, renewable fuels,” Jessica Moskovitz, communications director for the Oregon Envi- ronmental Council, wrote in an email. “Oregonians don’t need to choose between clean air and good roads, we need both.” 6LJQL¿FDQWFKDOOHQJHV Even without the ballot ini- tiatives, the low-carbon fuel VWDQGDUGIDFHVVLJQL¿FDQWFKDO- lenges. Although the standard took effect in January, the Ore- gon Environmental Commis- sion voted in December to delay enforcement of the law until 2018. Commissioners said they wanted frequent updates on the supply and cost of alter- native fuels and carbon credits. The Department of Envi- ronmental Quality, which administers the program, also changed one of its carbon emis- sions measurements last year to a value favored by the corn eth- anol industry. The industry had threatened to join oil compa- nies in attacking the law if the state did not abandon a calcula- tion that attributed a greater car- bon impact to corn ethanol. Romain said the Depart- ment of Environmental Quality is once again changing aspects of the fuel standard, after the SHWUROHXPLQGXVWU\QRWL¿HGWKH agency some of the numbers were incorrect. Agency staff could not be reached for com- ment Thursday afternoon. “The bottom line, the pro- gram isn’t working,” Romain said. “And you know, it may collapse of its own weight.” Moskovitz dismissed the idea that the program might be in trouble. “The program is working as it should by being updated as needed,” Moskov- itz wrote. 0LOOLRQVLQLQFHQWLYHV Meanwhile, the state is offering millions of dollars in incentives to governments and businesses that install fueling infrastructure or pur- FKDVH ÀHHWV RI YHKLFOHV WKDW run on compressed natural gas, propane or other alterna- tive fuels. Thursday was the deadline for businesses and governments to apply for $3 million in state tax credits for DOWHUQDWLYH YHKLFOH ÀHHWV DQG the Department of Energy is also offering $8 million in tax credits for charging stations, fuel compression and storage facilities and other transporta- tion projects through Septem- ber, according to agency press releases. The Capital Bureau is a col- laboration between EO Media Group and Pamplin Media Group. W A NTED Alder and Maple Saw Logs & Standing Timber N orth w es t H a rdw oods • Lon gview , W A Contact: Steve Axtell • 360-430-0885 or John Anderson • 360-269-2500 W in a free $200 Gift Ca rd NEWS TALK FOR THE COAST Providing live a nd loca l new s covera ge every da y Y ou could see it ton igh t, rea d a bout it tom orrow or h ea r it live N O W ! Sh a re yo u r o p in io n a b o u t Th e D a ily Asto ria n a n d D a ilyAsto ria n .co m a n d yo u ’ll a u to m a tica lly b e en tered in to a d ra w in g to receive a $200 VISA g ift ca rd Energy efficiency workshop for business customers T h e D a ily Astoria n is dedica ted to brin gin g you th e best in n ew s, en terta in m en t a n d a dvertisin g fea tures from a cross th e Colum bia -P a cific region . T h e w a y you get your n ew s a n d in form a tion is con sta n tly ch a n gin g so w e strive to sta y a h ea d of th ese ch a n ges. Please join us for a breakfast workshop to find out about Energy Trust of Oregon incentives and other wattsmart and renewable energy programs available to Pacific Power business customers. To h elp us brin g you a n even better n ew spa per a n d w ebsite, w e’re con ductin g a sh ort rea der survey of our subscribers a n d n on subscribers. W e’re in vitin g you to be a pa rt of th a t survey. ® W e a p p recia te yo u ta k in g th e tim e to co m p lete th e qu estio n n a ire. As a th a n k yo u , a t th e en d o f th e su rvey, yo u ca n en ter a d ra w in g to w in a $200 VISA g ift ca rd . F ro m n o w u n til Ap ril 15 , 2016 , yo u m a y a ccess th e su rvey o n lin e a t w w w.D a ilyAsto ria n .co m /d a /rea d ersu rvey Th a n k yo u fo r h elp in g u s to m a k e th e D a ily Asto ria n a n d D a ilyAsto ria n .co m even m o re va lu a b le to th e co m m u n ities th a t we serve. © 2016 Pacific Power wattsmart is registered in U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. 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