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
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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
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a settlement with Browne,
although Knight did not dis-
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Herman’s case continues.
Her lawyer, Anne Foster,
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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
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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
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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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