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Wednesday, May 2, 2018 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon
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EDITORIAL…
GUEST EDITORIAL…
Approve SPRD local option
Sisters voters should support the Sisters
Park & Recreation District local option levy,
Measure 9-120.
The District has seen a lot of turnover,
and it would be easy to demand more stabil-
ity out of the organization before committing
to an increase in its tax base. But a good part
of the reason for the instability is that the tax
base is so paltry. It’s difficult to attract and
retain quality employees in an environment
where they’re continually asked to do more
with inadequate resources. That’s a recipe for
burnout.
Paying more in taxes is never an attrac-
tive proposition — even when the amount (15
cents per $1,000 of assessed valuation) comes
to no more than the cost of a coffee drink per
month for most folks. In the case of SPRD or
the schools, the money has immediate and real
impact on the ground in our own community.
Keeping programs accessible to all, maintain-
ing our investment in facilities and expanding
program offerings to meet growing and more
diverse needs is a worthy way to invest in our
local community.
SPRD’s original tax base of 22 cents per
$1,000 started the district off underfunded
back in 1998, and it’s done a remarkable job
of fundraising and creating events to sustain
its programs. It’s past time to put SPRD on
solid financial footing, to enable it to realize
its potential to serve the Sisters community.
Jim Cornelius
Editor in Chief
Letters to the Editor…
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ters to the Editor is an open forum for the community and contains unsolicited opinions not necessarily shared by the Editor.
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To the Editor:
After 35 years as an educator, my hus-
band, David, and I moved to Sisters for the
schools. That’s right. Two 60-somethings put
“great schools” at the absolute top of our relo-
cation list. True, the natural beauty and clear
evidence of community involvement were
draws, too, but it was our serendipitous inter-
actions with students in Sisters which capped
our decision to choose Sisters. Seriously, who
wants to live where its citizenry does not
actively support education?
Those engaging students eventually drew
me into their schools as a volunteer and a
member of the Sisters School Board. The
quality of my interactions with the students,
educators, and volunteers in Sisters schools,
complemented by the passion and commit-
ment of numerous Sisters community groups,
convinced me once again that educated and
compassionate citizens equal a vibrant,
healthy community and are the backbone of
Sisters Country.
Sisters teachers and students consistently
demonstrate a superior level of commitment
to academics, while devoting endless hours to
imagining and creating unique, life-changing
programs. The renewal of the Sisters Local
Option will ensure the continuation of a more
personalized education for students, plus pro-
grams unique to Sisters: all-day kindergar-
ten, smaller class sizes, Mandarin Chinese,
a thriving arts curricula (Thank you, Sisters
Folk Festival!), the Sisters High School avia-
tion program in cooperation with Sisters
Airport, Science Technology Engineering
Arts Mathematics experiences (Thank you,
Sisters Science Club!), while simultaneously
making meaningful connections through out-
door experiences via Farm to Table and the
Integrated Environmental Education program.
It’s even clearer to me now, that Sisters out-
standing schools are no accident. Renewing
the Sisters Local Option is one vital way to
See LETTERS on page 8
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SPRD is turning 21
By Becky Aylor, Jim Hammond, Sharon Ling, Rand Runco, Jayne Simmons,
Theresa Slavkovsky, Lois Worcester, Tom Worcester, with Jeff Tryens
The Sisters Park &
Recreation tax district turns
21 next year. We are eight
long-time Sisters Country
residents who helped
raise the Sisters Park &
Recreation District since its
infancy. As SPRD reaches
adulthood, so to speak, we
believe it is time for the tax-
payers of Sisters Country
to recognize that SPRD has
grown into a mature, multi-
purpose organization by
supporting Measure 9-120,
the local option tax measure
on the May ballot.
Many of us were
involved in the creation of
SPRD’s predecessor, SOAR,
which provided after-school
activities for kids who
would otherwise go home
to an empty house. In fact,
one of our number, Tom
Worcester (and his friend,
Bob Grooney), came up with
the name SOAR — Sisters
Organization for Activities
and Recreation.
We were there when
voters responded to a com-
munity-wide campaign to
support SOAR through a
tax levy in 1998. Over the
years, we have watched
SPRD grow from a single-
purpose organization, sup-
porting “latchkey” kids, to
an agency that responds to
myriad community recre-
ation, education, safety and
health needs.
And we’ve been involved
every step of the way. Had
it not been for SPRD’s pre-
school program, Becky
Aylor, then a single parent,
would not have been able to
hold a job. Rand Runco was
the head coach for SPRD-
supported basketball for
many years. Jim Hammond
of the Sisters Astronomy
Club works closely with
SPRD to put on its monthly
“Stars over Sisters” events
for the community. Theresa
Slavkovsky, who works at
the Family Access Network,
has partnered with SPRD
for years to provide schol-
arships for kids participat-
ing in SPRD activities. And
Sharon Ling, who is deeply
involved in senior programs
supported by SPRD, even
has a daughter who was one
of the original pre-school
teachers at SPRD. Current
board member Jayne
Simmons’ grandchildren
have participated in numer-
ous SPRD-sponsored sports.
We know SPRD! And
we are passionate about
ensuring that this wonder-
ful agency has a sustainable
future.
By now you have prob-
ably heard many of the
arguments in support of an
SPRD tax increase: that cur-
rent tax funding has dropped
to less than 30 percent of
total budget; that pre-school/
after-school programs have
become expensive for many
families; and that staff turn-
over is unacceptably high;
and that delayed mainte-
nance is a growing problem.
All true, but what really
concerns us is that you, our
friends and neighbors, may
think that SPRD will keep
on keeping on with or with-
out this tax increase. We,
who know SPRD inside and
out, do not believe that the
current funding model is
sustainable for much lon-
ger. Without additional pub-
lic support, something will
have to give.
We would be remiss if we
didn’t mention the important
economic boost SPRD gives
our little town every time a
big SPRD-sponsored tour-
nament occurs. To see for
yourself, ask Pam Wavrin at
The Depot Café how impor-
tant those out-of-town sport
families are to her business.
Or check out the number of
families with teens in uni-
form making purchases at
Ray’s on a tournament day.
This is economic activity
generated by SPRD, plain
and simple.
Most importantly, SPRD
has improved the lives of
literally thousands of peo-
ple, particularly children,
in Sisters Country over the
past 20 years. It’s good for
the town in so many ways.
The SPRD Board of
Directors is asking the aver-
age homeowner to contrib-
ute less than a dollar a week
in additional support. We
believe that is an investment
well worth making.
We hope that you will
take the time to vote, and
vote yes on Measure 9-120:
“Five-year local option levy
for improving recreation
programs and facilities.”
Opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the writer and
are not necessarily shared by the Editor or The Nugget Newspaper.