2
SANDY (Ore ) POST Ihur»
Mot 21. 1985 (Sec 1)
The Sandy Post
Editorial & Opinion
Chris Hale general manager
Scott Newton editor
Cedar Ridge needs
a vice principal
The Sandy Elementary D istrict’s budget committee made a
good decision last week in deciding to include money for a vice
principal at Cedar Ridge in the proposed 1985-86 budget.
The exchange between budget committee members —
which includes board members — the adm inistrative staff and
parents was an example of public debate at its finest.
Although budget committees are supposed to determine a
dollar amount and not set policy, the line is inevitably blurred.
Freeholder Larry Buck went into the meeting pretty well
determined that Cedar Ridge could get by another year
without a vice principal, but later changed his mind
Buck was taken aback upon learning that the school could
save about $39,000 by eliminating the position. A cost of $30,000
was discussed as a salary, and some people were visibly sur
prised to learn the total — with benefits — came to $39,000.
Dennis Traxler, board member, made the motion to
eliminate the item from the budget. One reason he gave for be
ing against the concept of an added adm inistrator was the
declining enrollment expected at the junior high the next cou
ple of years.
Budget committee members also heard from parents, who
expressed a desire for a more effective disciplinary program.
Sandy Grade School principal Darrell Shepherd said the ad
m inistrators at other schools had made sacrifices because
they saw the need for more support at Cedar Ridge.
The vice principal would be in charge of discipline, among
other responsibilities. Dorothy Mills, board member, feels
that by taking care of discipline problems at the junior high
level, perhaps they can eliminate some problems at the high
school
Thinking of the school systems as a whole — instead of just
looking at one d istrict’s needs — is commendable.
When Traxler asked M ills if the public would buy the idea of
another administrator, she said, “ We ll have to sell it to
them.”
T raxle r’s motion to eliminate the position forced the budget
committee members to make tough decisions.
They were faced with a vote that exemplifies the dilemma
facing education in Oregon, quality education versus fiscal
conservatism A vote for the vice principal might suggest to
some voters that the budget is fat. After all, the first assump
tion most people make — regardless of the validity of that
assumption — is that the administration of any governmental
agency is top-heavy. Approving the motion to eliminate the
position had potential for good public relations. On the other
hand, there was a clearly stated need for a vice principal.
The vote was tied, at 5-5, and so the motion died.
We reserve the right to comment on the budget, which was
approved by the budget committee by a 9-1 vote. The budget
w ill increase 2.6 percent but the levy rate w ill go up 10 percent.
A public hearing w ill be held in April
Regardless of what happens at that time, we agree that the
vice principal’s position belongs in the budget.
Junior high students live in a world where they receive m ix
ed signals during a time when they are already going through
physical changes Some added guidance from a trusted adult
would be a good step forward.
That leaves us with one last thought. Some junior high and
high school students today do fight, some experiment with
drugs and some are sexually active. From hearing some peo
ple talk, though, one would think it is not safe to walk through
the halls of Cedar Ridge or Sandy High School.
The fact of the matter is a m ajority of young people are stu
dying, playing sports, earning m erit badges and holding jobs.
The decision to hire a vice principal does not indicate a pro
blem of unmanageable proportions
It is simply an effort to try to deal with a problem before it
requires Draconian measures. And that is how a school
district should be dealing with its problems.
L etters to the editor
Morrison has qualities
for position on board
The freedom of choice or the right
to choose is not only an honor but a
privilege here in America. For
tunately we have the opportunity to
exercise that right when it comes to
the selection of school hoard
members
When I look at a candidate I look
for someone who is truly for the good
of the children in all aspects of
school, especially quality education
Next I look for qualities such as
leadership, honesty, enthusiasm and
integrity in that pt'rson Well, that's
quite a hill to fit hut we are lucky to
have such a person running for the
W elche School board p o sitio n
number three on March 26
tie r name is Dawn Morrison and I
urge you Io please exercise your
right to choose the kind of person
whom you would want to have an ac
tive hand in determining your child's
educational future at Welches
Audrey Fonseca
Rhododendron
Buss is well qualified
This letter is in support of Paul
Buss for the SlIHS hoard position I
have known Paul for the last one and
a half years and find him to he a very
thoughtful, honest and hard working
person I feel that he is well-qualified
to serve on the school board His
previous experience on the Cottrell
Grade School budget committee and
SUHS budget committee give him ex
perience in school affairs.
Paul brings business experience
and "savvy” to the board I urge a
you to vote for Paul Buss on March
26th
Jerry Ford
Boring
Policy on letters
Letters to the editor should be
typed, double spaced and signed An
address and telephone number
should also be provided, although on
ly the name of the letter w riter and
the city or area he is from w ill be
published
le tte r w riters may also wish to in
clude a title or office held if it is ap
propriate considering the subject
matter of the letter
The news deadline of noon. Tues
day is also the deadline for letters to
the editor
L etters to the editor
Quote misrepresents; examine budget
Last week the Sandy Post publish
ed an article in which I was quoted at
the first meeting of the Sandy
Elementary School District budget
committee as saying, “ . . .'kids are
getting a better education' in other
schools.” While I dispute that exact
quote, the article also failed to show
that I immediately qualified the
statement I did make by noting that
any failures in our schools were not
due to the quality of the teaching
staff, or administration. I went on to
say that I have been, and remain,
very satisfied with the level of in
struction my children are receiving
in the district's classrooms My con
cern was instead with the worsening
financial situation in the schools, due
in part to the flagging economy and
the resulting decreased tax base in
our county. Never at any time did I
mean to imply our children are being
instructtonally shortchanged
Generally speaking I feel that The
Post, through its editor, is doing a
good job of reporting the news of our
community, and this incident has not
diminished my feelings for the ser
vice it is providing.
On the subject of the grade school’s
budget. I would like to say that in the
three years that I have served on the
budget committee, and during the
several years before that when I
closely followed its work, this last
session proved to be the most d if
ficult that I can recall The budget
committee, composed of the board of
education and fiv e freeholders
(citizensi, struggled this year with a
number of serious problems, not the
least of which included a declining
tax base and reduced state revenue.
Both the committee and the ad
m in is tra tio n spent many hours
debating, examining, and critiquing
the proposed budget until the com
mittee finally settled on a con
siderable number of cuts. The
resulting budget, reflecting a modest
4 5 pet cent increase, is, in my
estimation, a good one that still
allows for a sound teaching environ
ment We are. however, after several
lean years, perilously close to losing
the gams our district has made in the
past
Remember that the people who ex
amined, revised and cut this budget
are also taxpayers, homeowners, and
parents, and were appointed or
elected by you to represent the best
interests of our schools and our com
munity Sometimes voters, including
myself, are inclined to simply let
issues slip by without really attemp
ting to understand or examine them.
I hope the voters of the community
w ill take the time to examine the
budget, and bring any questions they
may have to either the board of
education, the administration, or
budget comm ittee members We
have done our job to the best of our
a bility Now it is tim e for you to do
yours and examine our work
W illiam W l-enon . chairman
Sandy Elementary
budget committee
Let’s try
Dawn Morrison
for their handling of this purchase. A
job well done!
John King
Sandy
Many people already know who
they're voting for on March 26. Many
people do not realize the school board
election is so soon Many do not know
who or how many the candidates are
and there are many more who could
care less about any of it.
To the remaining few of the in
terested voters in our district may I
recommend Dawn Morrison as my
candidate of choice. With three
children in Welches School, Dawn
has proven a tireless worker in and
for our community. She has served
as president of the M t. Hood
Preschool Coop, she reorganized the
Welches Parent Teacher Organiza
tion, and has been a Brownie and G irl
Scout leader.
With her rare w it, varied skills and
talents, and plain old common sense,
this candidate is running for the
school board position for only one
reason — to add what she can to
make our school the best it can be for
our kids.
Dawn is not seeking to become a
" p illa r " of the community, nor is she
interested in social prestige. She’s
not adding a political feather to her
or her husband’s cap and she's w ill
ing to do and say whatever is
necessary fo r the good of our
children. Crazy idea you say? Never
been done like that before? Let's try
it! Dur kids deserve Dawn Morrison
Vicki Kram er
Welches
Swails best
for Sandy High
‘Critic’ says
job well done
I feel the role of complainer and/or
critic must have balance. In other
words, when you feel things aren’t
right, speak up; however, when
things are right, be equally generous
with praise.
At the SlIHS board meeting March
11. the board considered purchase of
a metal shears The administration
secured three bonefied bids from
re p u ta b le ve n d o rs
E ach bid
represented a competitive machine
capable of doing the job. The board
reviewed each bid, then discussed in
detail the advantages and disadvan
tages of each machine
The board q uestioned Lynn
Sondenaa. shop instructor, concern
ing every aspect of the purchase, in
cluding a used machine, safety ad
vantages. maintenance, etc They
even discussed strength of the floor
to support the machine and a detailed
discussion of how it would be used
and supervised In my view, no stone
was left unturned to get the best
machine.
The instructor, Lynn Sondenaa. ob
viously knew his subject well and had
explored every aspect of the invest
ment I feel the board and ad
m inistration should be commended
Having known Jerry Swails for the
past 25 years and having first-hand
knowledge of his activities in the
school systems and community, we
support him as the best candidate for
the position as board member of the
Sandy Union High School.
He has always been involved with
the youth of the community, be it Boy
Scouts, G irl Scouts, 4-H Club or
members of the various high school
athletic teams He has always been
concerned that the students at Sandy
High obtain a good basic education so
that they would be prepared to take
their rightful place in the working
world
For many years Jerry had ex
perience in business managing his
own plumbing and heating contrac
ting business and at the same time
devoted a great deal of effort and
time to community activities such as
service as president of the Chamber
of Commerce, F ire Department,
Dad's Club and City Planning Com
mission
Jerry's whole fam ily, including his
wife Helen, along with their four
children, have been involved in these
activities and w ill give him their
complete support All four children
have graduated from Sandy Union
High School.
We feel as concerned as he is Jerry
w ill work very hard to get the maix-
mum educational value for the dollar
spent and w ill c o n trib u te the
necessary tim e to accomplish the
job.
We urge the citizens of the .Sandy
Union High School D istrict to support
Jerry Swails.
Olin V. Bignall
Joyce M Bignall
Sandy
Buss isn’t
a ‘yes’ man
Over the past year. I have had the
opportunity to become acquainted
with and work with Paul Buss
through CQE
Paul is now running for the open
position of the board of directors for
Sandy High School, and there are
several reasons why his candidacy
deserves the support of the voters of
our district.
Paul has demonstrated his com
mitment to the youth of our com
munity by the years he has already
devoted to good schools by serving
four years on the budget committee
of Cottrell Grade School, and the
budget committee of Sandy High
School for the past two years
However, it is important to point
out that Paul has never been con-
sidered a "yes m an," or a “ rubber
stam p," to the administration of
either school. As an individual with a
sizeable property tax b ill himself, he
is concerned about the tax burdens
all of us face, and w ill constantly
work to help achieve the most cost ef
fective use of our tax dollars.
The election of Paul Buss w ill pro
vide a positive influence in our school
board, and as one who is not satisfied
with the status quo, Paul w ill con
tinue to work to bring about needed
changes without the disruption of the
educational process that we have
seen advocated by some in our com
munity.
School board candidates can be
judged not only upon their past per
formances, but also upon the associa
tions which advocate their election.
Look at the past performance of
Paul Buss, and the past record of
those who oppose him, and I'm sure
you w ill agree, Paul Buss is the man
we need
Mel Lamm
Sandy
Buss and SUHS
are on course
Sandy Union High School has been
moving in the right direction these
past few years There is still a lot of
work to do and we feel that the board
needs the best qualified people to get
the job done, therefore we urge you
to vote for Paul Buss for position
number one on March 26 — that's
THIS TUESDAY, folks'
Nick and Shirley Roth
Boring
‘Problems’ was
informative
We want to thank the Cedar Ridge
Parent Group for sponsoring the re
cent forum. "Problem s Our Children
A re F a c in g ” We though the
speakers presented their information
in a concise and well informed man
ner We left that evening with a bet
ter understanding of how we as
parents might better cope when our
children become teens
We also feel we got a change to
know Roberta Hutton that evening,
and we feel very happy that she is in
charge of our high school She im
pressed us as a person who can deal
with the problems of teenagers in an
open and capable manner.
Our thanks to the Cedar Ridge
Parent Group and especially to Ann
Marie Amstad and Pauline Moore for
making it all happen!
Maggie Lowery
Donna Stuart
Michele Riggs