Budget cutbacks lead to losses; teachers at risk
M ary W ood & P atrick D ouglas
Next year, five to seven
teachers could be cut from the
current staff. Will it be your
favorite science teacher? The
English teacher that introduced
you to "Grapes of Wrath?" With
the money from the district's
Local Option coming in at $3
million less than expected, this
could be a reality. Additionally,
Governor Ted Kulongoski
announced last week that
$563 million must be cut from
Oregon schools and programs
due to a revenue shortfall.
"At this time, all we really
know is that the state revenue
shortfall translates into a
reduced fund to the West Linn-
Wilsonville School District
in the amount of $3,217,000
for next year," Roger Woehl,
superintendent, said. Further
bad news of a $14.5 million
cigarette tax revenue shortfall
will potentially reduce these
funds even more, leaving some
teachers in a vulnerable but
familiar position.
"I've been through this
process last year when I got
laid off at Reynolds," Michael
Glane, science teacher, said.
"I'm well aware of how much it
hurts people."
The district relies partly on
something called the Local
Option, which allows it to
bring in extra money from the
community. This alone allows
the district to hire 60 more
Photo by Mark Popper!
Michael Glane, science teacher, lectures his third period chemistry
class. Newer teachers such as Glane are facing potential layoffs due
to a budget shortfall. Further budget estimates at the state level may
lead to more cuts.
Amplifier earns state, regional awards
The Amplifier w as nam ed
the third best print edition
am ong student new spapers
from W ashington, O regon,
Idaho, M ontana and Alaska.
The publication w as recog
nized in W ashington State
U niversity's Edw ard R. Mur-
row H igh School Journalism
Awards Com petition.
"It's a hu ge hon or that
w e've won," M ary Wood, ed
itor-in-chief, said. "I've been
involved w ith the Amplifier
since m y freshm an year, so
this is a great w ay to end m y
tim e on the paper."
The com petition is held by
W SU ’s Edw ard R. M urrow
College of Com m unication,
nam ed for Murrow, w ho was
ch ief rad io corresp on d ent
for CBS in Europe during
World War II. The college is
nationally recognized for its
journalistic program s.
The Amplifier also earned
honors in state com petition.
In the O regon State U niversi
ty and N orthw est Scholastic
Press's Publication Olympics,
Amplifier w as recognized as
the Best O f C ategory for the
M ay 2009, senior edition.
A ccording to the judge, it
is "an excellent exam ple of a
stu d en t new sp aper op erat
ing at the top of its game,"
and that it featured the best
w riting in the state and best
leads for stories in this year's
com petition.
"That you produce som e
thing of this quality every four
w eeks is astonishing. C on
gratulations," the judge said.
O ther awards w on by the
Amplifier staff in the Publica
tion Olym pics, include:
•Elise Brown for Editorial
•Alison Fieldhouse for Fea
ture Photo
• Calley Lathrop for Editorial
•Benjamin M ann for Edito
rial
•Ashley Sheron for Sports
P h o to
•Jennifer Sitton for Sports
News
• G race W all fo r H u m an
Interest
•Lexi Welp for Personality
Profile
• Lexi Welp for Straight News
•Jennifer Sitton for Editorial
Best of Category
Honorable Mention
•Alison Fieldhouse for Hu
m an Interest
•Libby Kara for Photo Essay
• Shoshana Koon for In-Depth
N ews
•Eta Santoro for Infographic
•Nicole C am pbell for Re
view Writing
•Marshall M iller for Review
Writing
• Sean Pebler for Sports News
•Mark Poppert for Sports
Photos
•Eta Santoro for Editorial
Cartoon
•Jennifer Sitton for Editorial
•Riley Sw anson for N ew s
Feature
•Lexi Welp for Personality
Profile
•M ary Wood for Straig h t
News
Superior
•January 2010 Am plifier for
Single Issue
•Alex H ouston for Feature
Photo
• M ary W ood fo r R e v ie w
Writing
Excellent
• Decem ber 2009Amplifier for
Single Issue
teachers and 60 more staff than
it could otherwise.
"We have built up staffing
levels based on the money
coming in from the local
option," Arden Eby, head of the
Teacher's Union, said.
The Budget Committee was
originally expecting to bring
in $15 million over the next
two years dedicated to schools.
Instead, there will be a little
less than $12 million coming
in along with further cutbacks
at the state level. That gap has
created some major setbacks,
according to Woehl. To reduce
costs, the district will have to
cut teachers, programs, school
days or some combination of
the three.
The Teacher's Union
negotiates for gradual pay
raises from year to year. Since
the budget can't sustain an
increase this next year, the
contract will either have to
be renegotiated, or some
teachers might lose their jobs.
The money teachers receive
is a cost of living adjustment.
The negotiated increase for
teachers was supposed to be
four percent of their salary,
which would come out to
about $1.2 million.
"We would give up
everything if we saw recovery
on the horizon, but it would
probably be ten years before
the district could make it
up," Eby said. Giving up pay
raises would only delay the
inevitable, according to Eby.
If days are to be eliminated,
paid teacher work days will be
the first thing to go according
to Woehl, but that isn't going
to be enough to balance the
budget. The district's custodial
staff has already faced major
cuts, so staff reductions may
also come from secretarial
E mily R eed __________________
a sister and her boyfriend
all lived in the house at the
time. "We w ere all shocked
w hen w e found out,"
C unningham said.
A lm ost nothing w as
able to be recovered from
their hom e. Everything
w as either com pletely
gone or severely sm oke
dam aged. A s a result, all of
their linens, furniture and
clothing w ere destroyed.
"We have no furniture,"
C unningham said. "All of
it w as gone before w e got
hom e." Though this w as a
terrible blow to the family,
iiMigel_________________________
continued on page 2
Family's belongings
ruined in house fire
The grey one story
house that once w as hom e
to seven, sits deserted.
Charred rem ains of the
house— pink insulation
strew n across the ground,
boarded up doors and
w indow s greeted Justin
C unningham , freshm an,
and his fam ily w hen they
returned hom e A pril 3,
from Seattle. Shortly after
arriving, they received a
phone call, in w hich they
learned that their hom e had
burned down.
The fam ily of seven,
including C unningham ,
his parents, tw o brothers,
ieiisi ire______________________
continued on page 17
Photo by Libby Kara
Justin Cunningham, freshman, and his family returned home from
Seattle on April 3 to find their house burned and uninhabitable. The
family moved to Canby while searching for a new home in West Linn.
They are accepting donations to help replace their lost belongings.