Applegater Fall 2012 19
Ruch School looking forward
bY mARGARET PERROW DELLA SAnTinA
Like many school districts, the
Medford School District (549C) is in the
midst of a severe budget crisis. The district’s
approximately $4.3-million deficit looms
over the school board, administrators,
teachers, and ultimately parents and kids.
Although the 2012-13 school budget was
approved without any proposed school
closures, the school board is beginning
budget talks for 2013 later this year, and
the topic of school closures will inevitably
arise.
Now for the good (even exciting)
news: a group of parents and community
members (Applegate Partners Promoting
Local Education or APPLE) is in the
process of developing plans to ensure the
continued operation of Ruch School in
2013-14 and beyond. Meeting regularly
since April in consultation with Ruch
School principal Julie Hill, APPLE aims
to be as proactive as possible. As a school,
as a community, and as a bioregion, we
have a lot that is unique—things we see
as potentially valuable assets to the district.
While we understand that the district faces
a fiscal crisis and is looking for places to cut
the budget, we are very excited about the
educational value that Ruch can provide
the district.
In the past months, we have consulted
with education professionals, made
presentations to the 549C school board,
and had conversations with individual
school board members as well as district
superintendent Phil Long. We have
discovered ample research, spanning
decades, proving that school closures do
not ultimately save districts money. In
fact, rural school closures have devastating
long-term economic and social impacts on
the broader region of which they are a part.
We have the active support and
involvement of Senator Alan Bates and
Representative Peter Buckley, with whom
we communicate regularly about our ideas
and progress.
We have demonstrated clearly that
Ruch School is not losing the district
money; that is, revenues attributable to
Ruch School more than cover the direct
expenses of the school and contribute to
the district’s overhead costs. Moreover, we
have secured for the district an additional
$52,000 annually in Remote Rural Schools
funding, due wholly to the fact that Ruch
School is part of the Medford School
District.
Perhaps most importantly, Ruch
School already has a highly successful
academic program: our students’ test
scores, daily attendance rates, and later
high school graduation rates surpass district
averages. Our goal now is to build on
those successes. We are currently focusing
on two related goals: First, to develop a
more enriched educational model that is
closely tied to the unique characteristics
and values of our local community and
unique bioregion. And second, to generate
greater revenue for the district through the
increased enrollment that will result from
such an educational model.
To help envision what such an
enriched educational model at Ruch School
might look like, APPLE is conducting an
online community survey. Results of this
survey will also help ensure that Ruch
School remains a true community school
that engages community volunteers in
academics and enrichment programs, while
providing services to the community more
broadly. Our principal—in consultation
with our site council, members of
APPLE, and a former teacher from
another successful rural community school
in Oregon—worked on a preliminary
proposal presented to the school board in
late August.
We hope you share our enthusiasm
for developing a more enriched and robust
educational program, closely tied to our
community and bioregion, which we
believe could be a “magnet” and a model
for the district. If you would like more
information about the work of APPLE,
would like to share ideas to help make
Ruch School sustainable, or would like
to be included on our email list, please
contact Matt Epstein at matepstein@aol.
com or 541-899-8644. And if you have
not yet completed our community survey
online, please take a few minutes to give
us your input! Just go to http://www.
surveymonkey.com/s/JRDQ8VG.
The strength of the relationship
between our local school and our
community depends on all of us.
Margaret Perrow della Santina
541-899-9950
June benefit at Red Lily Vineyards
Ruch School scores big
It is with pride, humility and
elation that I share the results of
the Ruch School benefit at Red Lily
Vineyards. Although the number is not
quite final, the net amount raised for art,
music, and other enrichment programs
at Ruch School will be nearly $30,000.
That’s right, almost $30K. Wow!
There is no way to adequately
express my personal thanks and gratitude
for all the Ruch School students,
parents, grandparents, and friends for
this outpouring of community support.
All of us are grateful for every single
dollar contributed. And we are equally
grateful to the dozens of people who
contributed their beautiful winery
setting, their fabulous cooking and
baking skills, their auctioneering talents,
the setup crew, the teardown crew, and
so many more.
Please show your thanks to
everyone whose businesses were
involved by patronizing them, and
make our treasured Ruch Country
Store your first stop for your weekly
groceries. Craig and Amber Hamm are
the personification of “community,”
aren’t they?
Hooray for Ruch School!!
Priscilla Weaver
priscilla@saltmarshranch.com
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APPLEGATE OUTBACK: MY OPINION
Gone fishin’
bY bOb fiSchER
I have decided to go fishing for
awhile.
I hope I have brought into
someone’s life a little humor and some
happiness in this troubled world.
Happy trails.
Bob Fischer
541-846-6218
Bob
Fischer
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Opinion Pieces and Letters to the Editor represent the opinion of
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Address Opinion Pieces and Letters to the Editor to:
The Applegater c/o Applegate Valley Community Newspaper, Inc.
P.O. Box 14
Jacksonville, OR 97530
Email: gater@applegater.org
To the Editor:
After reading the latest of Chris Bratt’s articles, “Safekeeping the lands we share
in common,” I wanted to write and express my appreciation for his constant vigilance,
around our forestlands.
With 36 years in the valley, I’ve witnessed many “forest battles,” and for me, Chris
has been a truth beacon I can rely on, sorting out the issues, and compelling common
sense, community inclusive approaches.
At the close of his most recent piece, Chris leaves us with a real forest doctrine to
live by when he encourages us to recognize “our obligations as citizens to preserve and
revitalize them for future generations.”
Thank you, Chris.
Paul Safady
Williams
Hi, how are ya?
I’m Bryan Applegate from New Haven, Connecticut, just wondering how on
Earth a whole town’s got the same name as me! My parents are from New York City
and I’m just doing great. I have a bachelors degree from Western Connecticut State
University in law administration with a concentration in paralegal studies. My cousin,
a Harvard graduate, is a scientist at Oxford. I’m confused, though. Shouldn’t I be
planting apple trees?
Sincerely,
Bryan Alfred Pope St. Damasus I Applegate
Co-manager at Subterranean Sound Studio, LLC
Waterbury, Connecticut
Keep me in your thoughts and prayers!
