Image provided by: West Linn High School; West Linn, OR
About The amplifier. (West Linn, Oregon) 1921-current | View Entire Issue (June 1, 2010)
2 News June Many considerations factored into budget decisions Budget __________________ continued from page 1 time. However, big reductions will likely be made to the teaching staff. "The first thing you look at is seniority," Woehl said. Sometimes qualifications are more important than seniority. This means that some teachers need to be kept on staff based on the subject they teach. The process is a difficult one for Lou Bailey, principal, who is in charge of downsizing at WLHS. "It’s devastating to lose people," Bailey said. "Most people low on the seniority list are people I've hired." Teachers are feeling the stress as well. "I was laid off last year from another district," Jennifer Howe, science teacher, said. "Essentially, my colleagues are going through what I went through last year. It was probably the hardest thing I've ever had to go through in my adult life." Some teachers are preparing for the worst. "I'm expecting to not be here next year, just in case," Adam Betzelberger, economics teacher, said. "I've actually already started looking for work." Another factor that can affect the teaching staff is bumping. Bumping is the process by which teachers who are cut at a district school and who have more seniority can bump out newer teachers at another school in the district. Teacher cuts will have other impacts as well. "If we cut staff, that has an impact on class size and programs we could offer," Woehl said. There are guiding principles to budget planning for schools. In high school, the main principle of guiding the budget process is to preserve a rich variety of programs, according to Woehl. The district has far more programs offered than are required by the state, according to Woehl. For instance, the language program is more extensive than at many other schools, including options such as Chinese. The first year Chinese class will be eliminated, but that is due to low enrollment rather than budget. Some students who forecasted for it have expressed concern. "It ruined my plans for high school language," Derek Fieldhouse, freshman, said. "I think it's unfortunate that it's being cut because Chinese will be very important in the future." Despite the desire to keep program variety in high school, sometimes it is necessary to decrease programs. When this is needed, the principal looks at what programs have large numbers of people interested, which programs are on the rise and which programs are fading into the background. "Our goal is to not cut programs," Bailey said. He went on to explain that sometimes programs Although this year's Speech and Debate team faced many difficulties, the members have done their best to push through them. Three members of the team advanced to State, and Benjamin Mann, senior, qualified for the semifinals. One of the largest obstacles the team faced this year was the absence of one of their coaches, Lisa Root, who has suffered from back problems and has been on leave. This left Annie Kaiser, coach, alone to guide the team, along with balancing the other activities she had outside of Speech and Debate. "Annie has a lot of stuff going on outside Speech and Debate," Justin Altemus, junior, said. "She's the head of Thespians, and works with a lot of the theater stuff." Photo by Libby Kara Benjamin Mann, senior, practices his radio commentary in the Forum. He participated in the State Speech and Debate competition, advancing to the semi-finals and placing in the top eleven speakers in Oregon. school is out," Woehl said. While the challenges the district faces may seem daunting, Woehl emphasizes that WLWV is better off than many others because of the Local Option finances. "We have tremendous support from our community," Woehl said. "If you go to a school that doesn't have a Local Option, you don't have those resources." Additionally, there is the potential for the district to receive Federal stimulus funds or for the state legislature to make decisions to offset some of the issues from the shortfall of state revenue. For any further questions about the budget, contact Woehl at (503) 673-7028. Bond money to update gym, commons J ennifer S itton With the passing of the latest bond, there are adequate funds to implement some necessary updates to the entryway of the school, the old commons and the main gym. According to Rob Holstrom, Athletic Director, the plans have been discussed for years, but only recently have become Speech and Debate Team conquers difficulties M ary E arp disappear as a consequence of cutting teachers, but that diversity is highly valued in the school curriculum. Maintaining core classes such as English, math and • science are a priority. Many students are college bound, and having a solid background in a variety of disciplines are important for college acceptance, according to Bailey. Right now it's unclear when the budget will be finalized, but it will have to come before summer. Any changes that are made will go into effect at the beginning of the next school year. "My hope would be that we have all decisions made before Along with one coach on leave, and the difficulty in scheduling practices because of Kaiser's conflicting activities, the team also faced difficulties in all members attending practices and competitions. "Attendance was a hardship we faced; a lot of the members on the team are part of Jazz Band or other activities," Mann said. "More than 12 or so members are on the team, but only seven went to Districts." The State competition, held at Western Oregon University, posed difficult competition for the team. The three members that advanced to State, Mann, Altemus and Joshua Grelewicz, junior, all did really well, according to Mann. Altemus and Grelewicz argued over government labor unions, and faced "formidable competition," according to Kaiser. Mann advanced to the semifinals in radio commentary, and placed among the top 11 speakers in the state. "It was quite an accomplishment for this dedicated young man who just joined the team this year," Kaiser said. Although the team has seen its share of difficulties, being a part of it has allowed students to express themselves. Mann saw it as not only a way to represent his school, but also to improve his self-esteem and to grow as a person. "I feel like it's a good way to utilize talents and gives me a chance to represent my school," Mann said. "It provided me with more school spirit and helped me with my confidence." a reality. "(The plans) were a part of the original bond, but things just haven't been completed," Holstrom said. "When money starts running dry, some of our projects have had to take a break." The majority of the changes will take place in the main gym. The most significant update will be the removal of the pegboard that is currently on the east and west walls of the gym (the walls behind the baskets). The pegboard, which has been a source of contention for years, will be replaced with strategically placed medium-density fibreboard. Bond______________________ continued on page 15 Officers elected to student government A new group of elected Associated Student Body is plan ning some fun surprises that are being kept as closely guarded secrets to kick off the next school year. "We're really excited," Gracie Myers, president, said. "This seems like a good group of people." Senior officers Gracie Myers - President Katie Hughes - Vice President Thomas Ward - Secretary/Treasurer Andrew Daniels - Director of Major Events Alexander Nelson - Student Relations Carly Benge - Public Relations Jefferson Chandler - Assemblies Drake Edwards - Director of Video/Historian Junior officers Corinne Carver George Clark Kristina Sebastian Brittany Westover Students receive international honors at ISEF and ISWEEEP M ary E arp Cram er w on $3,000 in the Environm ental M anagem ent Avilash Cramer, senior, category and w ill have a w alked aw ay from the »m inor planet nam ed after International Science and him. He and A nn Bernert, Engineering Fair held in junior, earned the U.S. San Jose, Calif, w ith both A rm y Award for Excellence, recognition and cash. rew arding them w ith three C ram er received Best of $1,000 savings bonds. Category, the best of the first At the International place w inners, earning him Sustainable World (Energy, $5,000 and another $1,000 Engineering, Environm ent) tow ards college, along w ith Project Expo in H ouston, $1,000 in the w inner's fair. Texas, John Paul Savory "I'm very honored to have and G raham Frank, received the aw ard," Cram er juniors, received honorable said. "There w ere 116 m entions and w on $300. projects in m y category and Bernert and C ram er both all of them w ere really good, received gold m edals and so I w as very surprised." $ 1 , 000 .
