Image provided by: Friends of the Sandy Public Library; Sandy, OR
About Sandy post. (Sandy, Oregon) 1938-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 16, 1982)
— The Srfntìy Post Editorial & Opinion Von Broschier. Publisher Coroline D uff Office Monogor Don Dillon. Editor Scott Newton News Editor SANDY. OREGON THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 16. 1982 Levy defeat would cost, not save A fourth and final defeat of San* dy High's fund-raising efforts at the polls Tuesday spells a multiplication of problems for the entire community. An earlier tax-base increase at tempt and two subsequent serial levy tries were sent back to the blackboard with failing marks at the polls It matters not whether school budgeters have failed to read what voters were telling them or whether negative voters simply failed the school. Budget defeat at this stage of the school year would cost the community lost jobs with school staff cast into unemployment and a costly scramble by high school parents to find alternative school ing. The bottom line says the school must close Sept. 30 with levy failure Tuesday. That’s when the district would run out of operating funds. To their credit, school officials have whittled $232,000 from the budget with cuts in swimming, w a ter polo, c a re e r c e n te r, graphics and six staff positions That still leaves district patrons with a $2.069 million A ballot re quest for basic operations and a $404,040 supplemental B ballot re quest. The total budget request represents a 35-cent increase per $1,000 assessment or $17.50 more this year for the owner of a $50,000 home. No state or federal funds are available to bail the school out, either, should the levy fail again here. Next chance to hold an e m erg en c y budget electio n wouldn’t come until Oct. 19. Those two weeks in coma would burden the school with $5,000 daily maintenance fees just to keep the sleeping school alive, until more life-restoring funds enter the system. Closure is costly, and so is start-up. Another district elec tion also would cost local tax payers. Suddenly S a n d y ’s in the spotlight, but the heat feels more like a grilling hot light How San dy citizens work their way out of this tight spot—despite financial woes of the depressed area—will tell a lot about the character of this town, its pride and what respect it warrants from the out side world. Jobless neighbors and personal poverty play a part in plans of some voters to vote against the school budget Tuesday, of course. They’re voting their pocket book. We think, however, that Sandy’s seen enough persons lose their jobs. Putting the entire staff of Sandy High School out on the street won’t do much to improve the general economy of this com munity. Sending public school children parents scurrying to buy their teenagers’ way into private schools would put added economic burden on much of the communi ty F ru stra te d tax p ay ers who think the district asks too much to operate the school or don’t like the way money is spent should choose a more appropriate and less critical time to shout their disapproval. F ru strate d tax payers now have the full attention Welches supports of trembling school planners, who On Sept 21 the Sandy can’t wait to hear from them next UH-2 levy again will be of school board meeting. Then the fered Should the levy fail, public discussion discussion can school will close and the commence, as it should. parents of grades 9-12 Only now, please don’t hold our students individually will assume total responsibility children hostage and cordon off for their children’s educa their schoolrooms like some sort tion There will be no public of battleground. That’s all so funds to pay tuition or transportation, should they counter-productive. decide to send their child to A “Yes” vote is urged Tuesday another district A d d itio n a lly , I have in Sandy High’s budget levy elec heard a rumor that a "no" tion. (VB) TAX LE V Y School budget flap fans fiery debate Area mail vote sample promising If you norm ally vote in Hoodland precinct 381 or 382 at Wemme Lions Club but haven't received a notice of polling place change, county elections office wants to hear from you. Getting a representative tur nout Tuesday for Sandy High’s levy election is especially impor tant for county officials, as they contrast Sandy’s conventional precinct turnout with mail voting in that corner of the county that belongs to G resham High’s district. Clackamas County’s test of voting by mail already scores high marks for better voter par ticipation, with promise for more extensive county use. Some 1,898 county voters mail ed ballots as part of Gresham High School’s district already returned their completed ballots by Monday. That amounts to a whopping 46 percent subtotal, allowing for late votes to be counted and a tidy 3 percent undeliverable mail rate that shut out 120 “lost” voters Clackamas County elections supervisor John Kauffman said that undeliverable rate reflects “ we have an awful clean file.” He's also pleased with com parison to Gresham High School's March 30 poor precinct turnout of 1ft percent locally, when college board seats and a county senior levy also faced Clackamas County voters in the school's district. That am ounted to only 601 Clackamas county voters The current 46 percent local <1? early returns, however, aren’t as good as Multnomah’s 60 percent prediction or earlier tests that scored approximately 75 percent participation by mail. Kauffman will eye Sandy High's levy turnout Tuesday at conven tional precinct polling places as a good test comparison to the mail voting of county voters in Gresham High’s district. Since both districts vote on critical budget levies, the comparison would be more apples for apples than apples com pared with oranges One key to Sandy High’s precinct tallies will be switch in polling place for Hoodland Precincts 381 and 382 from Wemme Lions Club to Hoodland Fire Department The change in polling place is permanent, and Kauffman is eager to notify all concerned voters to the change by election day. Memorandum cards noting the change were mailed to these voters, but a certain number of qualified voters may not have received word Kauffman asks Hoodland voters of precincts 381 and 382 who didn’t receive this memo card to contact his county elections office at 655 8551 If time runs out, these precinct voters still may register at the new fire hall polling place which will feature a deputy clerk on duty to do the honors. The main goal, of course, is a representative high turnout for Sandy High's critical levy Tues day (VB) The Poet gratefully Acknowledges essays and written opinions from readers to appear on thia page—separate from the unbiased news reports on other pages of this newspaper Your opinions generally will be printed as letters to the editor, while ours generally will appear as editorials Occasionally, we are able to print guest editorials We attempt to print all signed letters of good taste, legible form and reasonable length. Our deadline is noon on Tuesdays. » Maybe the economy will have shown enough im provement that we could then vote on the next year's budget also Things will show an im provement. and then we can reestablish our old habits We all need to work together, however, so we all can survive this winter, not just the chosen few who can affort the higher taxes Let’s vote “ No” on the Sandy High school levy Jay I) Yeager Sandy vote on the Sandy High levy and the school’s subse quent closure would result in a high school at Welches Not tru e ! W elches is organized as an elemen tary district and would con tinue to operate as a K B Sandy Union High School school Welches parents District does not have suffi would face the same pro^ cient funds to operate the blems with a high school school beyond Sept 30 closure. There are no provisions 1 plan to vote for the San for funding by the county, dy High levy state or federal govern K C Blackburn, Supt m e n ta . T h e re is no Welches School " re s e rv e ” fund in the school district to enable us to operate the high school beyond Sept 30 If you don't like school Tuesday, Sept 21, you board decisions, talk to the will be able to vote on a tax school board If you don't levy that asks for 12.069.093 like budget com m ittee (Ballot A). In addition, decisions, talk to the under the laws of the State budget committee If you of Oregon, you will be able don’t like your property to vote on another tax levy taxes, talk to your govern for 1404,040 (Ballot B). ment officials These levies will enable us But for our children's to continue operating the sake, don't take away their high school for the 1962 83 education! school year Shirley Roth The Sandy Union High Boring School District recognizes its responsibility to special education students in pro viding a free appropriate Our current problem education in the leaat with the school budget is restrictive environment. getting blown out of proper Funds to provide this ser tion with the idle threats of vice are obtained from closing down the school local property tax levies on just after it starts and say an annual basis. ing the students are being Sept. 21, voters of the robbed of their school and school district will decide athletic activities whether to fund educa In the first place, Sandy tional services d istrict High will never go down in wide Should the levy fail, history for its basket the district will run out of weavers or water polo operating resources and by players A school has to be law must close the school run like a business, and Sept 30, On Sept 29, all when times are tough as educational services for in any b u s in es s-th ere le a rn in g d is a b le d , alw ay s are some un educable mentally retard necessary functiora that ed. emotionally handicap can and must be cut When ped, speech and other times get better, you can health impaired students reestablish those cuts a lit District special educa tie at a time tion services will be ter Nobody guarantees the mmated under the premise taxpayer wages in this that all students accessing recession, so how can the any educational programs school expect to take the must be treated equally. money that is not available Passage or defeat next to give? Tuesday w ill determine fhe school school should whether the school will re start operating on what main open or closed The budget it has. while making school board asks you to all the cuts it can As the c a re fu lly consider the school year goes on, if they facts We also encourage run out of money, we could you to vote next Tuesday then vote on enough money Wayne R Johnson to finish the school year SUHS board chairman Don’t cut ‘tree’ Voting "No” on school budgets is something like taking an ax to an apple tree that has been bearing good fruit through all its years Education has made our a d v a n c e d c iv iliz a t io n possible Our people are o ur most v a lu a b le resource To fail to find and develop their talents would be a fo rm of s e lf- destruction for our society Pornography, crime and Teresa Iximer Heidi Lamer Bonita Connelly Shawn Burns Becky Rodrigues Lisa Izer Trim salaries Teachers at Welches School need to realize a few pertinent facts about the district where they teach The rest of the nation may be in a recession, but in the Hoodland area we are try ing to survive a depression Letters to the editor Closure forecast Vote ‘Yes’ Cut costs weakening of the family br ing us plenty of grief To turn our backs on educa tion surely would double our troubles 1 am one of those who want our schools to turn out young people strong in basic skills, sold on our na tional ideals and ready to take on the duties of citizenship Voting down the school budget defeats those aims We need to give our high school a vote of confidence on Sept 21 and our young people the same opportunity we received W Pete Sulzbach Sandy As a part-time grocery clerk (whose husband now works in Idaho after no work for nine months), I see more people than ever having to use food stamps, welfare or unemployment checks-desperately trying to hold th eir fam ilies together with one or more parents out of work and no end in sight U n e m p lo y m e n t up here—if tallied indepen dent of th e re s t of Clackamas County—would be higher, I believe, than those Oregon counties termed “ disaster areas” by s ta te and fe d e ra l economists. Many of us have had cars repossessed, homes foreclosed and We as co n ce rn ed credit ruined because of no stu d en ts and past work. Yet some teachers are graduates want to voice our opinion of the passing demanding more money, of the Sandy Union High while fortunate enough still to be working They well School A and B ballots We know that sports have may deserve more pay, but helped m any students we cannot afford to pay it throughout their lives It is now Other unions national an important factor for ly have settled not only for many reasons One in wage freezes, but wage reductioas volves lessons learned At lea st u n til the through participation in team sports Also, many economy turns around and scholarships have helped we have a little hope, can't k id * m ake it through you teachers have a little higher education Also im u nd erstan d in g ** W e 're portant is the feeling and frightened -so frightened knowledge of what it’s like that you can't threaten us anymore with what will to win or loae or just par ticipating in something you happen if our kids don't believe in But cutting all of have volleyball, football or one sport is an injustice to band Some of them don't have those who have been par ticipating in this sport all enough for food If we're too poor to keep through high school and your wages up with the even before Another reason we want Joneses, maybe you’d be to see both ballots passed is happier in town with the because the money that Joneses Vicki Kramer would have been needed for Welches the water sports that are on the B ballot may need to be made up by the grade school, so the taxpayers I want to talk about the may have to pay sooner or later importance of getting out Also, if neither the A nor to vote Every vote counta B ballot, it will coat the tax By not voting, those who do payers Si million to close vote make decisions for the school which is more you. V oter re gistratio n in than it would coat to keep it open Oregon is p e rm a n e n t, We urge you to support unless an elector shows no both the A and B ballots. voter activity for a two- Athletes cheer Register now year period or changes residence, name, party or other information on the voter registration card You may register before or on the day of voting at the library You must pre sent a “ c e rtific a te of r e g is t r a t io n ," if you register during the last 20 days before an election Registration by mail is the principal means for registration to vote in Oregon Mail-in registra tion forms are available in c o u rth o u se s, p u b lic schools, banks, savings and loan o ffic e s , M o to r Vehicles Division offices and other public places with high access Any person who is a citizen of the United States, resident of the State of Oregon and 18 years old on election day may register to vote So if y o u 'r e not registered to vote, why aren’t you? And if you don’t vote, why not’ Kimberley Nelson Democratic precinct committee person, Sandy Aid needed Sandy Community Ac tion Center has been extra busy the last two months, as more people feel the pinch of the recession In particular, there have been many requests for food. I wish to speak for the volunteers who operate the Center in thanking all our sponsors who bring u t clothing, fu rn itu re and various household items We also g re a tly ap preciate the contributions of food by individuals, ch u rch es and o th e r organizations Cash com tributions received are us* ed to p ro v id e food, emergency lodging and oc, casional minimal dental or medical help. More than 1,000 persons come to the Center for help of some sort each month. We do not charge them for clothing, furniture, food, etc We hope that more local* ch u rch e s and o th e r organizations will be inclin ed to help the Center in its work with regular monthly contributions, no m atter bow small. We offer warm thanks to all the individuals and organizations who are help* ing Jan Buncl>( Volunteer coordinator LETTERS POLICY The Post asks that all totters to the e d ita r he ty p e d . doable-spaced and signed Deadline to noon, Tuesday. 9
