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3A THE DAILY ASTORIAN • WEDNESDAY, MARCH 21, 2018 Knappa: Parents noted schools are isolated from local law enforcement Continued from Page 1A such as reporting suspicious behavior. “We wear many different hats,” Johnson said. The superintendent also mentioned the most recent incident at the school during a discussion of federal student disclosure laws. “I know some of you might have been frustrated when we had the last threat of violence that when you called school, you couldn’t find out the name of the child,” Johnson said. “That’s to protect not only you, but it’s also to protect your child, and it’s also to protect the child who did the incident.” Parents repeatedly noted that Knappa schools are iso- lated from local law enforce- ‘It seems like having somebody on our campus armed would be a better option than relying on a sheriff that might be on the other side of the county.’ ment and mental health orga- nizations. Some asked whether the school district has consid- ered hiring its own resource officer to keep watch through- out the day. One man pointed out that both the U.S. Depart- ment of Justice and the National Rifle Association are offering grants for such positions. “They’re pretty politically motivated to give rural schools money now,” he said of the gun rights organization. The school district has worked with Clatsop Behav- ioral Healthcare, the Clatsop County Sheriff’s Office, Ore- gon State Police and Astoria police to prepare for a potential emergency. But a school shoot- ing could happen before police have enough time to respond. “It seems like having some- body on our campus armed would be a better option than relying on a sheriff that might be on the other side of the county,” one man said. “It’d be a heck of a lot faster.” Sheriff’s Deputy Nate Rico said at least one deputy is always assigned to patrol the Knappa area and that officers from other departments may be able to respond if they happen to be closer. “We might be 20 minutes away, so that sucks, but we also try to come to the school as much as we can,” Rico said. “We try to be out here so we’re available. We don’t expect there to be a problem here but, you know, if that day comes, we’re ready. We have a good plan for the school.” School administrators offered tips on how to prevent children from reaching a vio- lent point: Report suspicious behavior early. Remind stu- dents to take drills seriously. “On a spectrum, if we’re one to 10, we’re probably a seven. There’s more we could do, I would agree,” John- son said. A man in the crowd added, though, that stronger safety measures may harm other aspects of the school. “To get to a 10, it’s prob- ably going to take away a lot of what makes a small school really nice,” he said. “You have to have concrete blocks over all your windows and, you know, that would just suck for everyone.” At one point during her remarks, Montgomery dis- cussed a conversation she had when she worked at another school. A parent asked her what guarantees she could offer that teachers could keep children safe. “I don’t know,” Montgom- ery said. “We’re going to do our best.” Consult a PROFESSIONAL College: Will likely look at borrowing in the short term Continued from Page 1A in terms of the current funding that we’re experiencing.” Tuition and fee revenue is one of the largest sources of funding for the college, along with property taxes and state funding. Each $1 increase translates to about $25,000 in revenue, said JoAnn Zahn, the college’s vice president of finance and operations. Tuition and fee revenue is down nearly 8.5 percent from the same point last year, equal to around $200,000. The col- lege developed its budget based on an increase of 8 per- cent in enrollment from more course offerings and the rede- veloped Patriot Hall. “That’s concerning,” Zahn said of the drop. “That’s a big chunk of change.” The proposed increase would bring the college from $99 to $102 per credit, effec- tive in the summer term. The college last raised tuition in 2014 by $1, from $98 to $99 per credit, to fill a gap left by state funding. “Prior to that, we had raised it every year in the 14 years I’ve been on the board,” said Rosemary Baker-Monaghan, a board member who has vowed to not support any more tuition increases. “I just can’t vote for it anymore.” The average tuition and fees paid by students have increased statewide by more than 30 percent over the past decade. During a recent meet- ing of Oregon’s 17 community college presidents, most indi- cated their tuition would go up to between $107 and $112 per credit, Breitmeyer said, add- ing the college’s increase was among the most modest and would still leave it as one of the more affordable places to take classes. “Most institutions are going up between 5 and 10 percent for the upcoming year,” Breit- meyer said. The college would attempt to offset the increase in tui- tion by targeting financial aid toward lower-income students, increasing the college founda- tion’s support and looking at ways to lower textbook costs, he said. College enrollment gen- erally falls as the economy improves, and Clatsop County is experiencing its lowest sea- sonally adjusted unemploy- ment rate in more than 40 years. The college is experienc- ing the largest drop in enroll- ment among Washington state students, who are down about 12 percent from a year ago, compared to between 8 and 8.5 percent among other stu- dent groups, Zahn said. The decline from Washington state, she said, might be related to expanded online offerings by Grays Harbor College. While enrollment is fall- ing, the college has increased spending 11 percent from the same point last year, mainly because of costs from Patriot Hall and new instructors in welding and Spanish, Zahn said. While looking to hike tui- tion, the college board also voted Tuesday to provide a 3 percent annual salary increase to full-time faculty over the next two years, and the same pay bump to support staff next year. Part-time faculty received a 4 percent annual salary increase two years ago. The college board also voted to WANTED Alder and Maple Saw Logs & Standing Timber Northwest Hardwoods • Longview, WA Contact: John Anderson • 360-269-2500 Berkshire Hathaway Home Services Northwest Real Estate Netarts Bay, OR Pam Zielinski Mobile 503.880.8034 PANORAMIC OCEAN VIEW home with a turret. Nearly half acre, gated commu- nity, circular drive, almost oceanfront. 3316sf. 3.5 car garage! Artistic coffered ceilings. 4 bdrm + den + family room + turret room. Grand entry with elegant curved open staircase. 2 fireplaces. Fenced back- yard. The Capes in Oceans- ide. Great price $824,500 MLS 17-349 JEFFREY M. 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Tessa Scheller, a stark critic of the college’s allowance of smoking in designated shel- ters, read the motion. “Thanks everyone,” she said. “I know it was a long haul, and controversial at times.” Teena Toyas, the college’s physical education teacher and dean of transfer education, said the issue had stretched back at least 20 years. “It’s been at least three times in my 18 years we’ve done it,” Toyas said. The college board in 2009 limited smoking to designated open-air shelters in 2009. In crafting a tobacco-free campus, college board mem- bers had wrangled for months on whether to allow smoking in designated “good-neighbor zones” along the periphery of campus, advocated by several staffers, and how to focus the policy on cessation education. Some raised concerns that a tobacco-free campus would push smoking to the border of campus and increase littering. 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