Page 13
Illinois Valley News, Cave Junction, OR Wednesday, May 23, 2007
TRSD hikes sports participation fees
By SCOTT JORGENSEN
IVN Staff Writer
Participation fees for
student athletes will be in-
creased following a 5-0 deci-
sion by the Three Rivers
School District (TRSD)
Board of Education during its
Monday night, May 21 meet-
ing in Murphy.
Director Phil Stephens
moved to accept the fee in-
crease, which would double
the current $50 fee to $100.
That motion was seconded by
board member Dave Strahan.
John George, principal of
Fleming Middle School, told
the board that rising transpor-
tation costs and officials fees
prompted the higher fee re-
quest. TRSD has operated on
the same participation fee for
the last 20 years, and that
figure is less than those paid
at other 4-A schools.
“We have some of the
lowest fees in the (4-A) con-
ference,” George said.
He said that the increase
would only apply to the
sports programs that currently
have a $50 fee. As an exam-
ple, he cited the wrestling
program at North Valley
High School.
An overall lack of ath-
letic programs contributes to
the district’s declining enroll-
ment, George said. He added
that coaches should be given
higher compensation.
Director Leslie Meier
said that her children pay
$150 to participate in school
soccer. She asked if the rise
would apply in that case.
George replied that those
programs have built their
budgets for next year based
on past allocations, and
would not be affected by the
change.
Meier asked how much
schools in neighboring dis-
tricts charge for athletic par-
ticipation. George said that
Grants Pass High School
charges $100 per student for
every sport season, with a
$200 maximum.
George said that TRSD
is developing a wavier system
for low-income students, but
would have to see the effects
of the fee increase before
making final determinations.
Board member Bob Li-
tak said that for students eligi-
ble for reduced lunches, a $50
increase is “a significant
amount of money if you’re in
that situation.” George agreed
that the increase may affect
participation in athletic pro-
grams, but that TRSD would
like to avoid such a scenario.
“We don’t want to see a
decline in our numbers,”
George said.
However, he said that the
increase “brings us right to
the middle” of what compara-
ble districts charge for partici-
pation, and that an immediate
change is necessary.
“We’re getting by on a
bootstrap, if that,” he said.
The final motion estab-
lishes a $100 fee for funded
sports programs now charg-
ing $50. There is a $300 per
family cap.
WALK FOR LIFE was held Saturday, May 19 by Illinois Valley Pregnancy Center on
the track at I.V. High School. Participants included (from left) Mary Lefner, CeCe Fi-
erro, Corinna Fierro and Judy Baker. They and others pushed empty strollers to
symbolize the babies and the mothers for whom the Pregnancy Center exists to
help. The theme for the annual event was ‘Go Light Your World,’ based on a song by
Kathy Troccoli where people are challenged to touch the lives of those around them.
(Photo by Jenna Lefner)
Advertising
doesn’t cost.
It pays.
OSP troopers for rural areas OK’d in state budget
Senate also sees increase in funding for Rogue Community College, and short legislative session
By SCOTT JORGENSEN
IVN Staff Writer
Oregon legislators con-
tinue to battle over the state
budget, but a revenue forecast
released on Tuesday, May 15
will increase that pot of
money by an additional $152
million.
Sen. Alan Bates (D-
Ashland), a member of the
budget-writing Ways and
Means Committee, said that
the figures are good news for
the state’s lawmakers.
“It means, first off, that
we can complete our budget
and complete our funding of
the state for the next two
years in a reasonable fash-
ion,” Bates said.
Among other aspects,
those additional dollars likely
will be allocated toward in-
creasing the salary of Ore-
gon’s judges, currently lowest
in the nation, and K-12 and
higher education programs.
“We’ll be able to com-
pletely fund scholarship pro-
grams for kids in college,”
Bates said. “We should also
see a much better budget for
Rogue Community College.
That way, we can hold the
line on tuition and maybe
even lower it.”
Between the rosy reve-
nue forecast and increased tax
receipts, legislators have
more than $2 billion to work
with than they did during the
2005 legislative session. As
such, Bates said, any pro-
posed tax increases are
“probably unlikely at this
point.”
“People are still talking
about the beer tax and corpo-
rate minimum tax,” he said.
“But the likelihood of any of
those things happening is
pretty low right now.”
Rep. Bruce Hanna (R-
Roseburg), another Ways and
Means Committee member,
said the state will be able to
fund all essential programs
with the available revenue.
“We can spread that out
fairly and make the budget
halfway sustainable,” he said.
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Hanna said that Democ-
rats have proposed a total of
56 tax increases and “over $7
million worth of new fees.”
Any tax-raising measures
require a three-fifths majority
in the House, where spending
bills originate. Democrats
hold a narrow lead in that
chamber, and would need
five Republican votes to ap-
prove any tax increases.
Hanna said that isn’t going to
happen.
“I don’t think, from a
Republican caucus stand-
point, you’ll find any support
for new tax increases unless
they’re correspondingly at-
tached to changes,” Hanna
said. “For example, inheri-
tance or capital gains tax re-
ductions.”
Major portions of the
state budget have yet to be
finalized, but movement is
being made along those lines.
On Monday, May 21, the
Senate voted unanimously to
approve funding for 100 more
Oregon State Police (OSP)
troopers.
OSP funding has been
extremely politicized in this
session, as Republican efforts
to fund 139 additional troop-
ers with existing general fund
revenues have been met with
stiff resistance by House De-
mocrat leaders, Hanna said.
The Republican pro-
posal, House Bill 3535, was
denied a vote on the House
floor twice, much to Hanna’s
disappointment.
“Even members that had
signed on as supporters
wouldn’t allow this bill to
come to the floor,” Hanna
said. “It was defeated by the
Democratic majority.”
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I.V. Youth Soccer
The annual general meet-
ing will be held Saturday, May
26 beginning at 10 a.m. at the
Illinois Valley Real Estate of-
fice between Subway and Tay-
lor’s Country Store in Down-
town Cave Junction.
Marine Corps League
An all-veterans service,
including a parade of flags and
laying of wreaths, will be held
on Memorial Day, Monday,
May 28 at 11 a.m. by the
Rogue Valley Detachment.
There also will be a flyover
by aircraft from Kingsley Field
at approximately 11 a.m. The
family event will be held at
Hillcrest Memorial Park at 945
N.E. Hillcrest Drive in Grants
Pass.
KS Wild
There will be a hike Satur-
day, May 26 into proposed
Wilderness along the Lower
Rogue River.
Car-pools will leave
Gooseberries Natural Foods
parking lot in Grants Pass at 10
a.m. and will meet at the
Graves Creek Boat Ramp at
11. For more information,
phone 488-5789.
Bates said that the OSP
budget included concessions
to Oregon counties affected
by the loss of federal funds,
several of which are facing
cutbacks in sheriff’s office
patrols. Josephine County is
among those affected.
“Initially, those 100 offi-
cers were going to be put
along the I-5 corridor in Port-
land, Eugene and Salem.
Those of us from the rural
areas said that if they did that,
we wouldn’t vote for it,”
Bates said.
“We expect the state pa-
trols will have to pick up the
gap here,” he said. “The idea
of putting them up and down
I-5 to monitor traffic and
slow people down is not what
we want. We want them out
there so we can have law and
order in rural counties. We’ve
gotten a commitment that
that’s going to happen now.”
The state’s education
budget has also yet to be fi-
nalized. However, Hanna said
funds are available to fund it
at an adequate level.
Another point of conten-
tion between Democrats and
Republicans has been Gov.
Kulongoski’s Healthy Kids
Plan, which would provide
health care to Oregon’s unin-
sured children by raising
cigarette taxes.
Bates said that legislators
likely will refer the matter to
voters in a coming election.
“We’ll probably see it as
a ballot initiative,” Bates said.
“That’s probably what will
happen. That might even fail
too.” Hanna said he expects
the Legislature to adjourn in
six or seven weeks, which
would make this the shortest
session in recent history.
“There is still a lot of
momentum to get out of the
building by June 30,” he said.
AN ESCAPED BURN PILE on Lone Mountain Road pre-
cipitated an alarm for Illinois Valley Fire District on Fri-
day, May 18 at 4:11 p.m. Approximately 1/10th of an
acre ‘in several fingers of flame’ was affected, said
Deputy Chief Jeff Gavlik. He noted that residents need
to be especially careful with burn piles. No injuries or
structural damage were reported. (Photo by Dale &
Elaine Sandberg/IVFD Media Dept.)
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