♦—SANDY (O r«.) POST Thur*., F«b S. »»«, (S«c 1)
The Sandy Post
Editorial & Opinion
Von Braschler, Publisher
Caroline Duff, Office Manager
Mark Floyd. Editor
Dan Dillon, News Editor
Letters to the editor:
Readers hot over school flap
GUEST
Editorial:
N o drug problem
by Judy Bowman of Sandy
Mother of 6 teens & ex-teens
Parent involvement needed
M r McMahan
Principal Sandy Union High
Dear Sir,
1 agree w ith some of v o ir statements
made in the Sandy Post in reply to reports
made
by
the
Hoodland
L u th e ra n
congregation concerning the lack of
discipline, etc. of students at Sandy High
School May I add that if they feel it if so bad
here, than they should take a look at the
schools in Portland sometime
Your statement, •Everyone has got to be
involved” . . . . “ when we load up we load
up together.” is very im portant and
something we all have to work on. com
munication being of the utmost importance.
I have received much T lak” lately,
especially from some friends and many
chirch-involved people. The pressure and
the new trend in our country is to get the
better students out of the public schools and
put them into private schools, so they can
get a better education and not be exposed to
the e vils" of the world.
I have found that the education isn’t
necessarily any better in the private
schools I t ’s just that the parents are forced
to be more involved, because they have to
pay the tuition out of their own pockets to
send the kids there
Somehow tax money that we all pay for
education just doesn't hurt quite as much as
having to "fis h ” it out of o ir pockets.
Because parents are forced to be involved,
then they are going to help their kids w ith
their studies, they know the teachers and
what is being taught.
The parents also have to help mtrans-
porting the students to and from school
Students that are a discipline problem are
expelled — at a financial loss to the parents
You can be s ire not too many kids are
kicked out of school, because then mon and
dad would have to be responsible for them —
not the school.
I have found that those parents who yell
the poudest about the school are tnose who
don’t want the responsibility of teaching
their kids what is rig h t or wrong or how to
help the student through classes where they
have to learn to think and work out problems
of their own
How many of the concerned parents took
the time to talk to the teachers they have
“ heard' about How many are listeirung to
gossip and believing it? I ’m not saying all
the things they have heard are inaccurate,
but I believe many of the things are
exaggerations.
If it turns out that all the claims made by
the Lutheran congretion are true, then
someone had better clean house, possibly
starting at the top
I have found that over the last few years
things have really changed in our schools.
The responsibility has shifted from the
parents and students to the teachers. It is
the teachers responsibility to teach a
subject, even though often 50 percent of the
students may come to class with no pencil or
paper
The students have all their Tights' and
no responsibilities This is brought about by
their parents, who may feel the same way —
it's up to others to do things for them They
themselves aren’t to be held responsible for
their actions, whether i t ’s raising their
children or holding down a job Only parents
whose teens end up in ja il or are involved in
a fatal accident are finally made to realize
that they have failed to teach their chiltken
how to accept responsibility as well as basic
moral values
It's so easy just to let the schools teach
morals, as well as reading, w riting, math,
and civics and if "m y kid' ends up taking
drugs or drinking, then it's the school's
fault Of course, that way I don't feel any
guilt or responsibility.
When are parents going to wake up?
This idea that lockers can't be searched
without warning the kids firs t is a fine
example of the lack of responsibility of all
adults involved This includes parents who
make up dumb laws to protect the guility
party and harm innocent people
It seems to me that when a child or teen is
on school grounds, the school is responsible
for him Because the child is not of legal age,
then to protect them as well as others, action
should be taken to seize anything that may
be harmful to the health of one or many —
especially, if it is an illegal item that was
bought illegally.
There is a law that is supposed to prevent
sale of liquor to minors, but it s the kids
parents who are providing it for them That
is when it is tim e parents should be forced to
be held responsible for their children
I know that often when a teen is kicked out
of school or even flunked out of Cass
because no homework was tirn e d out of
school or even flunked out of class because
mi homework was turned in, or he hit the
teacher, or he came into school totally
stoned — then the p a re n ts come
"ro a rin g ”
to school to
punch-out”
whoever was responsible tor kicking their
child out of school. The student is to go to
school It s the school s responsibility to
teach the kid But what parents don’t realize
is that school, especially high school isn’t to
be used as a babysitting agency. If the child
doesn’t want to stay, it is very easy to get
out of school. Sandy High has a hall
monitor and also one out in the parking lot.
Any teen when challenged as to where he is
going between classes or in the parking lot
can say he's sick, or has a doctor's ap
pointment and leave
Many parents provide the students w ith
cars or some means of transportation Then
it’s those parents who are upset when they
find their child has been skipping classes or
going out to the car to smoke or (Fink They
blame the school for not watching It's the
school's responsibility , rig h t” W rong!
1 feel that schools should make strong
rules and standards and stick by them no
matter who the child's parents are. I know
one school in the area that has made a
strong effort to uphold certain rules If the
rules are broken, then the parents are called
and told to come and get their child. The
parents don’t want to have to accept
responsibility for their child, but i t ’s time
they have to.
This idea that because of the distance
some students live from school you can’t
expel them seems to be a very weak excuse
to avoid conflict with the parents.
If an administration can’t stand conflict,
then they had better get people strong
enough and concerned enough to make rules
sure, even some waves — and stick to them.
I know of one disciplinarian who has been
involved in education in different schools for
years who would like to be hired into the
high school to help clean it up He could do It,
too. from what I know about him.
Kids that are in school just to cause
trouble should be sent home* for mom and
dad to babysit. There are s till some kids» in
school, believe it or not, who want some
college preparation, so they can get a good
job when they get out into the working
world. These students are the ones who are
prevented from getting a good education,
because the teachers spend too much time
disciplining and not enough tim e teaching
The administration keeps sending the
trouble-makers back into the classroom,
because "they are here to learn " How
about the others in the room who are there to
learn something from the class’7 Do they
have no T ig h ts" at a ll”
The students should be required to bring
pencil and paper to class and if w ill not. then
send them home If teachers are to be solely
responsible for the student and his actions
while in school, then pencil and paper must
be required for entrance to class The child
can go to sleep on his pencil and paper, but
at least he can’t use the age-old excuse. “ I
don’t have anything to w rite on" when an
assignment is given
Many of the better, more qualified
teachers, are le a vin g the teaching
profession because of the constant " lip ”
they get from the kids, from the parents and
the vandalism and theft to their things in
their desk at school and at their homes The
teachers have no rights and seem to be at
the mercy of those lawless ones who seem to
have all the rights these days
Those teachers still hanging in there" at
the schools should be backed by the ad
ministration, but aren’t in many cases when
conflicts arise The teachers also should be
talked to by the parents who should know
what their children are learning in school.
Most parents who have visited the teachers
at the schools these days are amazed at the
knowledge the teachers have
Teachers at least at the high school level,
aren't allowed to teach any class they aren’t
trained in For example, if a teachers has a
major in college in math then he doesn’t
teach science He teaches math only. This
wasn’t true in yesteryear when a teacher
could teach nearly anything, no matter what
he majored in college No more.
So the parents who complained about
teacher preparation obviously didn't know
what they were talking about Also, a
teacher is required to take six hours of
college courses every three years to keep his
teaching certificate Even if he has a
masters degree, this is still a requirement
It's no wonder many people are leaving
the teaching field Does anyone realize what
kind of wages teachers make these days’7
Most people who work in a fa irly good job —
construction or steel m ill — make a lot more
than teachers
Also, they don’t have to spend their
evenings in correcting papers class
preparation or nights involved in extra
curricular activities games or danr.es
Some teachers are required to attend each
school function Someone has to police these
school activities How many parents wixild
take this responsibility’7 It's all the teachers
responsibility, rig h t” Who pays for these
things” It's y o ir taxes and mine Parents
should be more responsible, they should
know where their tax money goes and where
their kids are. what their tea« hers are like
and whal they are teaching their children
I am a student at Sandy
Union High School. I would
like you to know that drugs
are not a m ajor problem
at Sandy. Drugs and alcohol
are not a peer pressure
problem either
F or one th in g , peer
pressure
is
re la tiv e ly
unheard of around here. You
don't have to (kin k or smoke
or take drugs to “ fit in " as
you have put it. 1 fit in, and I
don’t do any of those things
Kids that take drugs are
going to do it, whether their
friends do or not.
Most of the kids that do the
stuff you have mentioned do
it. because they
have
problems at home.
Also our athletes are not
the type that get grades like
"fo u r D ’s and two F ’s.” I
have talked to an uniden
tified teacher and asked him
if he had ever known of any
student-athletes w ith g ra d «
which are that bad.
He replied, "Once "in h is"
high school teaching years
Also our athletes do not get
high before an athletic event.
To top that off, most of our
high school athletes are on
the honor roll. The average
GPA
fo r
the
v a rs ity
volleyball team was 3.4, and
the cross country team ’s was
3.6. Athletes want to win on
thier own — to know that
they can do it without the
help of drugs
The way this article was
put, you would think the
moment the bus driver opens
the bus doors, smoke comes
billowing out. as the students
come stumbling down the
stairs, red-eyed and either
stoned or drunk. Also, the
way you put it, you would
think our teachers go to bed
with their (male or female I
students. Our teachers are
decent people. just like
anyone else in the com-
munity.
How many lockers have
teachers etc. come across
that have booze in them ”
Most parents don’t buy their
kids booze.
How do you expect us to go
to college with an article like
that It is really going to ruin
our reputation.
I feel the article was very
one-sided Why don’t you get
facts from the other side i the
students) before you make
accusations like that? Our
school has more spirit than it
ever has before. I think it is
about tim e you get your
information straight
Darby Binder
School improved
I have been a concerned
resident of the Sandy Union
High School district for seven
years and have seen a small
high school struggle to im
prove its uiiage in the
com m unity. instill a sense of
pride in its students and
improve their education.
As a businesswoman in
Sandy, I have visited with
many of these students,
participated in then- classes
and had contact with many of
them as customers. The
Sandy Post has taken a
meeting with seven people
Legislator's report:
Senate chan
schedules
by KEN JERNSTEDT
Dist 2k Senator
The legislature has now been in session for
more than three weeks and continues to
proceed at a pact* that could be outdone by a
snail
Because inform ation on two of the main
issues before this Session — the budget for
the b ie n niu m and re d is tric tin g of
congressional and state legislative seats —
w ill not be available until A p ril, there has
been some interest expressed in changing
the opening date of the Session.
Speaking of changes, a number of them
have been effected by the new president of
the Senate, who succeeds Jason'Boe, who
served an unprecedented four terms.
Three new committees were created and
committee meetings have been scheduled in
such a way as to avoid conflicts which in the
past have made it necessary for members to
choose the meeting they would attend, or to
split their tim e between committees
meeting at the same time. To do this it was
necessary to set meetings from 7 p.m. to 9
p.m. — something which in past happened to
accomodate hearings on a crunch of bills in
the closing days of a session.
Another change is that we were presented
with a two-month schedule of session tunes.
They vary between 9:30 and 11 a.m. on
Monday , Tursday and Thursday , with no
sessions on Wednesdays and Fridays in
January and February
As in the past. I welcome contact w ith the
people in my district And again this session
we have a toll free number through which
you may call my office. It is 1-800-452-7813.
Ask for my office and we w ill take your
name and phone number and call back. This
is done to avoid tying up the toll free num
ber If you wish to dial direct, the number is
378-8850 The office address is S317, State
Capitol Building. Salem, Oregon 97310.
State revenue count cautious
by W AYNE FAWBUSH
Dist 56 Representative
Ten years ago, cycles in the economy
were long enough, usually three to five
years between inflations and recessions, to
give us a stable economic picture Today,
when the inflation-recession cycle is six to
eight months long, forecasting Oregon's
economic p ic tire over a two year period is
very difficu lt.
A special session last summer resulted
from a budget deficit of several hundred
m illion dollars This great budget im
balance was caused bv s w in ii in the
Ijis t year four of these
young adults visited me in
my office and explained what
the school was doing to help
them. These were former
problems from the streets of
Sandy They are now proud
of themselves and striving to
achieve new goals. Have you
ever reported any of these
programs?
We are all aware of drug
and liquor problems in most
high schools, but a small
percentage of the student
body is involved What about
the m ajority of the student
body that is working hard to
get a good education and to
become responsible citizens?
Please tell their sto ry!
They deserve the interest
and support of our com
munity. I realize that bad
news and sensationalism
sells newspapers
However, I resent your
irresponsible reporting and
your lack of interest in the
good things, good students
and good events that are in
our highschool
1 believe we should support
our kids. They are our future,
and we brought them here.
Roberta Swan
Boring
D on’t call cops
Legislator’s report:
One of the lessons that we learn quickly in
these troubled economic times is to be very
cautious in estimating the amount of
revenue the state of Oregon w ill have to
spend.
As a result, we re going to be w aiting for
several months to get the latest revenue
forecast to determine exactly how much
revenue the state w ill have, and therefore
how much to spend
We re waiting for the executive depart
ment to make a forecast based on tax
returns that w ill be coming in after A pril 15.
The executive department w ill look at
trends in the national and state economies
and then try to predict how much revenue
from taxes the state w ill receive during the
next two years.
The state of Oregon — by law — cannot
deficit spend, so we must have a good idea of
how much revenue w ill come in during the
two-year period of the state's budget cycle.
To avoid deficit spending, we have a dual
process in the legislature
The Ways and Means Committee is one
half of that dual process Committee
members have already begun looking at the
governor s recommended budget on a line-
by-line basis Tht committee is charged
with examining every state program and
determining where cuts can be made.
W hile Wavs and Means exam ines
p ro g ra m e xp enditures, the Revenue
Committee is beginning to evaluate all the
tax measures to see what changes w ill have
to be made We may have to generate more
revenue to meet expense commitments
approved by Ways and Means.
Since we plan our budget for two years at
a tim e, we must have a reasonable forecast
to get through the next two-year cycle
without going broke
and has made a headline
story from their allegations
about a few
Have you been to the high
school anti seen the efforts
that are being made to help
the students in alternative
education and try to instill a
self-confidence in them that
is so badly missing”
economy that the previous legislative
session could not predict.
Hopefully, this session we w ill be able to
avoid those pitfalls by waiting until the last
minute for the best forecast The session w ill
finish when we have the Ways and Means
Committee's final commitment on ex
penditures agreeing with the Revenue
Committee's estimate of income raised
from taxes
The estimate on the health of the economy
for the next two years w ill have determined
both of these fig ire s T hat’s why the
estimate is so important, and that's why
we re waiting for the most accurate figures
This week, the Revenue Committee is
m eeting w ith executive d e p a rtm e n t
analysts to discuss expected changes in the
revenue forecast. Paul Eggar and Bob
Smith of the executive department have told
us that there are two variables which have
played an unportant part in today 's budget
situation.
The first is the rate of inflation Nobody
anticipated that the inflation rate would
bounce up so high so quickly.
The second is a higher than expected
unemployment rate When fewer people are
working, less income tax is paid to the state,
and the general fund has less money
If these two elements worsen and
Oregon s economy fails to pick up again,
then the deficit w ill be even greater than the
$240 m illion predicted by the governor’s
budget If this happens, it w ill be a very
d ifficu lt legislative session
After the Ways and Means Committee has
made all the cuts they feel are possible, the
legislature as a whole w ill have to find
additional cuts from state programs, or
raise taxes above what is called for by the
governor
I have read your article in
the Sandy Post about the
problems that the school and
parents are concerned about.
1 do agree with a lot that was
said, but there are a few
things that 1 don’t agree
with.
For instance, getting the
police involved does not
always help. It could make
things worse The same with
long term suspensions
Do you think that a student
taking drugs or dealing them
in the school to other
students w ill really care if he
gets suspended fo r six
weeks? 1 don’t. He or she
would just take it as a
vacation from school
I came from a school that
had the same problems —
d rin k in g ,
sm oking
of
pot, skipping and teachers
putting the move on students
And the way kids think
nowadays is the same as
when I was there. Whenever
I got suspended from school,
1 was more than happy to
leave
Sure, not all students w ill
think that way. But the
m a jo rity w ill. I ’m not a
parent, nor a student But I
am concerned about tlie
problems that are happening
in the school and out on the
streets
The later part of 1980, my
name and a frie n d ’s were
printed in the Sandy Post for
a crim inal act that we had
done But we had recognized
that we had done wrong, and
when the warrant was put
out on us, we turned our
selves in.
We wanted to make
something out of ourselves,
but it did not help much
knowing that our name was
on the front page and people
who knew us would read it.
We both are on probation
because of it, and we are
tryin g to do things the right
way We got a chance to do
so, and we are taking ad
vantage of that.
Some of the students from
SUHS read that article and
thought we were really big or
something, but we weren't.
We were just a couple of
dumb kids, or that's what we
acted like Just as some of
SUHS students are doing
now
I think if there were more
support from parents and
teachers and a little more
understanding for these kids
and their problems, that
would help more than long
term suspensions and getting
police involved
I still have problems like
everyone else, but I ’ve
learned that finding help
from other people and the
right people w ill help me to
do more with my life than
lielp from the wrong kind of
people or the wrong things
laicas Jay Sisson
Get involved
As a participant in the
group of persons who met on
Jan. 24 to discuss concerns
about our high school, I
would like to make serveral
comments regarding that
gathering.
The occasion was a regular
weekly meeting of 6-8 men
who p a rtic ip a te in the
H o o d la n d
L u th e r a n
congregation
We invited
John McMahan, principal of
Sandy Union High School, to
join us so that we could meet
him and also to discuss
several concerns — the main
one being an incident which
occurred recently in which a
student ( the daughter of one
of our group participants)
almost overdosed from acute
alcohol and drug poisoning,
the consumption of which
took place during a Sandy
High School dance. We also
invited participation by men
of other churches in the
Hoodland area.
Without prior notification a
p a rtic ip a n t
in v ite d
a
reporter from the Sandy
Post In fairness, it would
have been better to have
discussed
as a group
beforehand
w hether
a
reporter would be invited or
not. I doubt that the group
would have decided in favor.
This past Tuesday morning
we met with John McMahan
again and also w ith Pete
G riffin and Gary Cleland,
members of the Sandy Union
High School Board who
reside in our area We have
had two inform ative and
productive sessions. Our
questions and concerns have
been shared in a positive
fram ework
All of us are committed to
the highest quality high
school experience for all
students attending SUHS. I
don’t believe it was the intent
of any person present at
either meeting to cast stones
or criticize our high school,
its administration, or its
student body In each case
we can be justifiably proud
We are very fortunate.
In p a rtic u la r, in my
opinion, we have found John
M cM ahan
to be very
responsive to our concern,
our interest, and our support.
I have an increasing respect
for his integrity as a person
and his stance as an ad
m inistrator.
Hopefully, our combined
efforts w ill help reduce, if not
eliminate, the possibility of a
fa ta lity like the one that
almost happened from oc
curring in the future.
I trust, also, that com
m unity involvement in and
support of our high school, its
administration, faculty, and
student body, w ill strengthen
the quality of the education
of our young men and
women
Terry W. Kent
Brightwood
Discipline mild
I ’m having a hard time
understanding the so called
"punishm ent" in our Cedar
Ridge School these days It
seems the principal believes
that by letting a child stay
home fro m school, the
student w ill consider himself
severly punished.
I have talked with several
parents and teachers who
agree that the “ punishment”
is having an opposite effect
on the children
As I picked my son up from
school, I heard, “ laicky you,
you don’t have to go to
school.”
The telephone rang con
stantly. It seems my son is a
hero and admired by his
peers
It takes very little to be
suspended
fro m
Cedar
Ridge. The se v e rity of
whatever crime the child has
committed doesn’t seem to
m ake
any
d iffe re n ce .
Anything from classroom
misbehavior to being caught
with alcohol qualifies
Here's the ultunate case of
irony. A child is suspended
from school for skipping
school
Now, instead of
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