PAGE A4, KEIZERTIMES, APRIL 21, 2017
KeizerOpinion
KEIZERTIMES.COM
McNary eases scholarship search
By ROCHELLE FARRIS
Funding a vocational or college
education is not a cheap venture for
students and their families. The path
seems daunting for many and often
there is confusion in the application,
scholarship and fi nancial aid process.
In the past, parents and students
may have felt alone in navigating
this important path. McNary High
School recognized the
importance of having this
kind of support for our
students. This year fami-
lies have a resource avail-
able to them to answer
questions and minimize
the confusion and com-
plexities of the college application
and scholarship process while sup-
porting students by helping them
become both college- and career-
ready.
The McNary High School Col-
lege and Career Center opened this
year in October. Since that time, I
have had the privilege of walking
alongside our students and families
helping them navigate the pathway
opportunities available to them after
high school. I get to meet with stu-
dents one-on-one and in classroom
settings, while also providing eve-
ning events and college and career
presentations throughout the year.
The College and Career Cen-
ter is open to students during our
school day, before school on Mon-
days and after school Tuesday—Fri-
day. I have worked tirelessly to pro-
vide information to our students
about local scholarships available in
our community while also inform-
ing them of the larger state and
national scholarship options. I also
have provided workshops through-
out this academic year on college
and scholarship organizations and
“How to Write Scholarship Essays
That Get Noticed.”
Students at McNary get many
opportunities to hear presentations
from local career professionals who
are invited to present about the
fi elds they work in. This year we
have had health care professionals,
business owners, software engineers
and many others present. This gives
students the ability to explore career
options and get questions answered
about a particular fi eld of interest.
The College and Career Center
has its own webpage (mcnary.salkeiz.
k12.or.us/activities/college-career-
ready/) within the Mc-
Nary High School web-
site that provides great
information for our stu-
dents and their parents.
Recognizing not all
students will choose to
attend college after high
school, there are many opportuni-
ties for students that do not include
post-secondary education. I also
act as a resource to these students.
Exploring career opportunities
through apprenticeship, military
or on-the-job training opportuni-
ties that will also lead to successful
careers. Our College and Career
Center also provides resources for
students looking for part-time jobs
and community service opportuni-
ties. Building resumes, writing cover
letters and preparing for interviews
are also areas that I get to support.
While I realize it takes time to
build awareness of McNary’s Col-
lege and Career Center offerings, I
have been working diligently to get
the information out to our students
and families. The benefi ts and results
of the College and Career Center
have been signifi cant even after only
being open for six months. McNary
High School has already increased
the rates of students applying for the
Free Application for Federal student
Aid (FAFSA). Last year at the end
of the school year (June 2016) there
was a total of 192 students who had
completed the FAFSA. Currently, in
April, we have 227 that have com-
pleted applications and I continue
to follow-up with seniors who may
need additional help fi nishing their
applications. In addition, we have
guest
column
Why McNary Kloset matters
McNary Kloset was unveiled at
McNary High School last week to
much fanfare. The Kloset is open and
serving students who are in need.
The project came
from the collective
minds of Audrey But-
ler and Stephanie Wit-
tman of the Keizer
Network of Women
(KNOW) a Keizer
Chamber
Founda-
tion group along with
counselor Kim Pittsley and assistant
principal Rhonda Rhodes at McNary.
Ms. Butler intended to donate
some unused clothing to a consign-
ment shop but she said something told
her to call the school before proceed-
ing. She asked the school if there was
a need for clothing and found there is
a great need for clothing for students
in need. And the clothing was just the
start.
McNary Kloset is now housed in
a former teacher’s lounge in a school
that is bursting at the seams. Though
space is a premium at McNary the
Kloset will put that space to good use.
The McNary Kloset is a cup-
board for students who are in need
of a piece of clothing or two. Besides
clothing the Kloset also offers food
and snacks and, importantly for stu-
dents, toiletry items.
Any visitor to the Kloset on open-
ing day saw racks of jackets, pants,
shirts, tops, a few pairs of shoes, tooth
brushes and paste and other personal
items and food—a meal or a snack.
The unfortunate reality is that
there are students in our community
that face shortages of the basic needs
of daily life. McNary Kloset is not a
‘come anytime’ place, it re-
quires a request and an escort.
That’s not to limit who uses the
room but to protect the dignity
of the recipients of its bounty.
McNary Kloset is a low-cost
way to provide for those who
are in need through no fault of
their own. The project is not
tax-payer supported and is not victim
to any bureaucratic maze—it is the re-
sult of caring and sharing Keizerites
and school offi cials.
It is important that students have
every opportunity to focus on their
studies while at school. Grumbling
stomachs and cold shoulders impeded
the education process. McNary Kloset
should know no season except the
school year. There is no short-term
coat or food drive to fi ll its shelves and
racks. Donations are always accepted.
The Keizer Chamber of Com-
merce offi ce and the Keizer branch of
Willamette Valley Bank are drop-off
sites for slightly used clothing, new
personal care products and food.
McNary Kloset matters because it
helps our kids from our community.
When a coat or a snack is given, the
donor can be confi dent that someone
who lives in the neighborhood or is
friends with their own child, is get-
ting something that can turn a world
around.
—LAZ
Parks fee
It was Mr. Post’s lack of
knowledge on the trans-
portation package that I
found the most disturb-
ing. It is bizarre because
it is happening in his own
district and that he has put
no effort to fi nd out what
transportation package en-
tails. Has Mr. Post forgotten that St.
Paul is in the district that he is bound
by oath of offi ce to represent? And
that representation is not prescribed
by the Constitution nor state law to
be extended to only one ideology. A
corrupt politician is bad and a repre-
sentative that does not represent is just
as bad.
Mr. Post has given up on being our
representative when he calls on us to
do his job for him. Then I ask why
are we paying him a government sal-
ary? He must think it is nice to have a
government job in which he is being
paid to do nothing.
David McCall
Keizer
our
opinion
To the Editor:
The headline for this
article is very mislead-
ing. The headline states
“Parks fees get majority
support”. The article goes
on to state that there were
1,102 surveys returned from Keizer’s
“roughly” 14,300 households. Using
these numbers that is a return rate of
less than 8% of the total households.
Marion County Elections reported on
March 8, 2017 that Keizer had 19,483
households which takes the return
rate down to 5%. Marion County also
reported that Keizer has 23,357 reg-
istered voters. I can not understand
how this survey would represent the
majority of Keizer.
Jim Keller
Keizer
letters
Rep. Post is not
doing his job
To the Editor:
The founders of American gov-
ernment, in their wisdom, gave us a
representative system. A system in
which the voting citizen has a voice
in government policy through a rep-
resentative in the legislature. This is a
contract between the elected offi cial
and the citizens of a district. To be
their voice. Representative Bill Post
has broken that contract.
It is the job of a representative to
represent, not make excuses as to what
he cannot do. The representative needs
to get the job done. After all it was Mr.
Post that asked for the position in the
fi rst place. He says he has no ability to
craft legislation on the budget, trans-
portation, or funding for veterans, but
he does not say why. Is he inept, or
has his monolithic ideology moved so
far to the right that even talking to a
Democrat is beyond his ability?
Vote for
Bateman
To the Editor:
I urge the election of Mark Bate-
man to the Satem-Keizer School
Board. I have known Mark for sev-
eral years. I have served with him and
observed his performance on various
committees and boards at the First
United Methodist Church in Salem.
Mark is a problem solver and is well
prepared for this position. His previ-
ous experience with a variety of orga-
nizations and the fi nancial challenges
facing each have all contributed to
his preparation to serve on the school
board.
John Joelson
Keizer
Keizertimes
Wheatland Publishing Corp. • 142 Chemawa Road N. • Keizer, Oregon 97303
phone: 503.390.1051 • web: www.keizertimes.com • email: kt@keizertimes.com
Lyndon A. Zaitz, Editor & Publisher
POSTMASTER
Send address changes to:
SUBSCRIPTIONS
One year:
$25 in Marion County,
$33 outside Marion County,
$45 outside Oregon
PUBLISHED EVERY FRIDAY
Publication No: USPS 679g430
Keizertimes Circulation
142 Chemawa Road N.
Keizer, OR 97303
Periodical postage paid at
Salem, Oregon
one student at McNary who re-
cently accepted her Act Six Schol-
arship which is a full-tuition, full-
need community leadership award
to attend Warner Pacifi c University
for all four years. We also are ex-
cited to have our fi rst Ford Family
Foundation fi nalist who will be in-
terviewing in May for a scholarship
that pays 90 percent of the cost of
attendance to any college in Or-
egon for all years he attends post-
secondary education. Scholarship
awards keep coming in and we are
excited to get to celebrate with our
senior students.
Additionally, McNary High
School is working toward becoming
the fi rst AVID Demonstration High
School in Oregon. I coordinate
with AVID teachers who are dedi-
cated to the successful implementa-
tion of the AVID College Readiness
System. Freshman through Seniors
learn about college preparation,
which includes researching post-
secondary academic programs, ap-
plying to colleges, and completing
fi nancial aid and scholarship appli-
cations. This year McNary AVID
seniors have already received nearly
$500,000 in scholarship awards.
The College and Career Center
will hold an event Tuesday, April
25 at 6:30 p.m.: Junior Jumpstart,
is a college planning event for cur-
rent juniors and their parents to
get some helpful step-by-step col-
lege information to help prepare for
your senior year. Preparation is the
key.
During this event attendees will
receive helpful hints on ACT/SAT
testing, completing college and
scholarship applications and under-
standing the fi nancial aid process.
NCAA athletic eligibility informa-
tion will also be presented in an ad-
ditional presentation at 7:30 p.m. for
those interested.
(Rochelle Farris is the coordig
nator of the College and Career
Center at Keizer’s McNary High
School.)
Change how colleges do business
By GENE H. McINTYRE
Through creative problem-solv-
ing and thinking outside the pro-
verbial box, it’s possible to come up
with ways and means to address Or-
egon’s public college and university
costs outside of double-digit tuition
increases. What comes to mind is
relief by way of college sports, ad-
ministrative costs, and Oregon leg-
islative action.
Let’s begin by looking at the his-
tory of American colleges and uni-
versities. There was a time when
people attended an institution of
higher education mainly to acquire
further education beyond second-
ary school to earn a degree and re-
alize the opportunity to work in the
fi eld of their choice. Back when it
was possible to earn, during sum-
mers and part-time school year jobs,
to meet all costs through
graduation. This writer
was one who accom-
plished that feat.
What has been no-
ticed most poignant-
ly nowadays is that col-
lege and university costs
come not only from the
traditional expenses, like
tuition,, books, room and
board, et cetera, but also a school’s
participation in sports programs.
Sports were once extracurricular
for fun and exercise or played by in-
state participants motivated by ath-
letic prowess and school spirit.
Just one facet of what’s going on
in college-level sports is the extreme
and excessive salaries, bonuses and
perks paid to coaches as well as their
subordinates. One example among
many can be cited recently from
the University of Oregon where it
was announced that a UO football
assistnt coach, a “defensive coor-
dinator and linebackers
coach,” will be paid $1.15
million per year. While
there are many assistants
for different team func-
tions at UO alone, the
head football coach at
UO, Willie Taggert, now
owns a 5-year contract
worth $16 million while,
in basketball, head coach
Dana Altman possesses
a 7-year contract at $18
million. Then there’s
track and fi eld, baseball
and a whole host of other
sports for men and, since
Title IX, women, also.
Without an encyclo-
pedia of higher education
costs for administrators,
let a couple of examples
serve to enlighten. University of
Oregon President Michael Schill
receives an annual base salary of
$798,400 plus a free car, free hous-
ing, a spending allowance and other
perks. Meanwhile, just a few miles
up the road, Oregon State Uni-
vesity’s president, Ed Ray, comes in
at an annual $699,876. Their sup-
port staffs are also paid handsome
salaries along with many an envi-
able perk.
There could be efforts made to
reform the way Oregon’s higher
education schools conduct business.
What stands in the way of direly
needed improvements and reason-
able costs are the persons who serve
on their governing boards: many
know little from personal experi-
ence about the fi nancial plights of
the average Oregonian seeking a
college education. The
presidents
and
oth-
er managers (deans and
department heads) often
receive six-fi gure remu-
nerations that are far re-
moved from the Oregon
families that send their
sons and daughters to
them. Sports are man-
aged and controlled al-
most exclusively these days by
coaches seeking the highest pay-
check with no loyalty involved.
The Oregon Legislature could
do a lot to make college costs
more affordable by keeping tuitions
low. How so? They could reform
the state’s tax structure so that the
corporations making huge profi ts
in Oregon would have to pay their
fair share of education costs at all
levels, a condition they’ve escaped
by the reduction creep of lobby-
ists’ activity. Too often, unfortu-
nately for Oregonians, it’s become
guest
opinion
apparent, too many Oregon legis-
lators are more interested in keep-
ing their political job than behaving
like statesman and are beholden as
virtual servants to the corporations
that contribute to their campaign
chests. One fact, though, that ought
to catch the attention of our legisla-
tors is the PERS consequence for
these obscene and solvency-busting
salaries.
Back to the future. Oregon’s
youth and young adults want a
chance to embrace the American
dream. To accomplish an opportu-
nity for more among us to attend
and graduate, there’s a need for he-
roic leadership efforts by those in
power positions willing to fi ght for
sane paychecks in sports and ad-
ministrative positions, now hav-
ing gone stratospheric. However,
as long as Oregonians are willing
to accept everything currently go-
ing on without protest, then those
who benefi t from what’s hap-
pened will continue without a sec-
ond thought because in no way will
these people with pockets full ever
be self-correcting.
(Gene H. McIntyre lives in Keizer.)
Share your
opinion
Email a guest opinion
(550 words) or a letter
to the editor (300 words)
by noon Tuesday.
Email to:
publisher@keizertimes.com