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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 18, 2015)
4A THE DAILY ASTORIAN • WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 18, 2015 Oregon population hits 4 million Dougherty: His The Associated Press PORTLAND — New esti- mates from Portland State Uni- versity say Oregon gained its 4-millionth resident this year. “Reaching 4 million this year indicates our economy is more than OK,” Risa Proehl, a Portland State population expert who worked on the esti- mates, said. “It means that our state is attractive to people.” The last such major mile- stone was in the early 1990s, when Oregon was growing at rates it hasn’t seen since. The state hit 3 million people in 1993, according to U.S. Census Bureau data. The university’s Population Research Center estimates that 4,013,845 people lived in Ore- gon as of July 1. According to Proehl, a ro- bust and healthy economy is driving the population growth. About 80 percent of the 2015 increase was from migration, she said, and the remaining increase was caused by more people being born than dying. Just four years ago, during the Great Recession, the pop- ulation increase was just half a percent — the smallest in 25 years. But the overall growth rate for 2015 was 1.3 percent. Oregon’s natural growth — the rate of people being born versus that of people dying — has been decreasing for some time, according to state de- mographer Kanhaiya Vaidya. Recently, births have outpaced deaths each year in Oregon, but Vaidya said there will be a day when the state will depend en- tirely on migration for popula- tion growth. Babies aren’t being born at VXI¿FLHQWUDWHVWRPDNHXSIRU the fact that their parents will one day die. To sustain itself, the population needs an average of 2.1 babies born per woman. Oregon has had a fertility rate lower than that since at least 2000, according to Proehl. The baby-boom generation isn’t getting younger, she added. Vaidya says the balance will tip in 2040, with more Orego- nians dying each year than are born. PSU and stat estimates say the state’s population is expect- ed to hit 5 million in the 2030s. Knappa: Smyth said a growth rate of 10 percent a year should not be challenging Continued from Page 1A Knappa has also started us- ing professional learning com- munities, groups of teachers in similar subject areas who meet to coordinate their curricula. “I would also like to get a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) math class next year,” Thomp- son said, adding there are many hands-on learners at Knappa. Thompson said the math department at Knappa still needs more data collection on students’ progression, an addi- tional half-time math teacher to join the district’s three full-time math staff, a math class assis- tant to help struggling students, longer periods for students performing below benchmarks ‘Part of the recipe is setting an expectation for being smart is cool. Highlighting achievement is important. Celebrating achievement is important.’ probably a combination of fear about not doing well, he said, a bias against testing and the fact many students meet their grad- uation requirements through other approved assessments. Many students use the state’s Essential Skills work samples, prompts they can complete un- der the observation of a teach- er, to meet graduation require- ments. Terrence Smyth superintendent of Knappa schools “Part of the recipe is setting an expectation for being smart and 24-hour access to learning success at Springwater includ- is cool,” he said. “Highlight- technology. HG QRW RQO\ SUR¿FLHQF\EDVHG ing achievement is important. grading, but also staff develop- Celebrating achievement is Potential ment in that system and chang- important. Expecting kids, and With certain changes, es in best instructional practic- helping them expect that they Smyth said a growth rate of 10 es. are capable and can work really percent a year should not be Why many students didn’t hard in classes and then show challenging for Knappa. take the Smarter Balanced how smart they are, that’s cer- Smyth said his recipe for Math assessment last year was tainly a part of it.” work ethic earned him respect Continued from Page 1A however, will be working on a new school relocation bond to be placed on the No- vember 2016 ballot. Three of the district’s exist- ing four schools are located in the tsunami inundation zone; they have “long surpassed their useful lives and have a high likelihood of catastroph- ic collapse in an earthquake,” Dougherty said. For 25 years, Dougherty and other admin- istrators have worked toward the goal of relocating those schools. A measure to obtain $128.8 million to do so was on the ballot in a November 2013 election, but failed. “It is still my desire to see our students in a safe loca- tion,” Dougherty wrote. “I be- lieve that by retiring at the end of this school year, it would enable me to focus more of my time toward pursuing this effort.” A long career Dougherty began his career with the Seaside School District as a teach- er at Seaside Heights Ele- mentary School in 1982. He also worked as a teacher at Broadway Middle School and the principal of Cannon Beach Elementary School before being hired to replace former superintendent Har- old Riggan in 1998. Phillips, who was on the board when it hired Dough- erty, said he “absolutely” has achieved everything the board hoped for and expect- ed when it made the decision. Phillips described Dougherty as “the epitome of the oppo- site” of Riggan, a tall, former athlete who commanded re- spect and attention with his physical presence. “Dougherty has com- manded respect because of the work ethic and the knowledge he has,” Phillips said, adding he provides the board with background in- formation and research to help members make every decision regarding the dis- trict. Dougherty’s retirement is coming “quicker than a lot of us anticipated,” Phillips said, but “obviously we support Doug.” “He’s been a personal hero to a lot of us,” Phillips said. Dougherty stated in his letter he is grateful to parents and community members for their support and amazing generosity. “I also want to thank the current and past administra- tors, teachers and staff for tirelessly creating collabora- tive learning environments as they develop our com- munity’s greatest asset — its children,” he wrote. Port: Suit claims Weston abused his authority as director Continued from Page 1A After their suits were filed, Port Commission Chairman John Raichl initi- ated a third-party review of allegations against Weston. The report, performed by human resources consul- tants from the Local Gov- ernment Personnel Institute, sustained allegations that Weston, while he was inter- im director, was untruthful to the commission, engaged in deceptive contract modi- fications and had unethically taken a tenant’s abandoned property for his personal use. Browne settles At Tuesday’s regular meeting, the Port Commis- sion authorized Knight and WKH 3RUW¶V FRXQVHO WR ¿QDOL]H a settlement with Browne, although Knight did not dis- FORVHWKHVSHFL¿FV Herman’s case continues. Her lawyer, Anne Foster, UHFHQWO\ ¿OHG DQ DPHQGHG complaint adding Raichl as a co-defendant. Herman’s amended com- plaint alleges she was not told about the release of the third-party report into :HVWRQ¿UVWUHDGLQJDERXWLW in The Daily Astorian, which obtained a copy in May after a prolonged public records request. Meanwhile, she said, Weston was given several private meetings to tell his side of the story regarding the report. “At the beginning of Au- gust (2014), Weston asked Commissioner Raichl to help with all decisions relating to WKH¿ULQJRI0V%URZQHDQG plaintiff,” Herman’s amend- ed complaint alleges. “Based on information and belief, since that time, Commission- er Raichl approved each and every decision relating to plaintiff’s employment at the Port.” Herman’s amended com- plaint also seeks an addi- tional post-employment retaliation claim, alleging Commissioner Bill Hunsing- er shouted from his truck, “you’re a piece of s---,” to her in September, as she and her co-workers waited during the lunch hour near an intersection in downtown Astoria. 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