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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 .