4A
THE DAILY ASTORIAN • TUESDAY, JULY 10, 2018
editor@dailyastorian.com
KARI BORGEN
Publisher
JIM VAN NOSTRAND
Editor
Founded in 1873
JEREMY FELDMAN
Circulation Manager
DEBRA BLOOM
Business Manager
JOHN D. BRUIJN
Production Manager
CARL EARL
Systems Manager
GUEST COLUMN
School board seeks input on bond levy
A
s chairperson for the Astoria School
District Board of Directors, I am
honored and proud to serve on the
board for one of the oldest school districts in
Oregon, and to be a part of the rich history
that has been built here for almost 165 years.
One of my favorite events each year is our
Astoria High School graduation ceremony.
It has been my privilege for the last several
years to witness firsthand the gratification
of accomplishment shared
between students, parents,
staff members and the com-
munity as a whole.
Each year, as I listen
to the amazing speeches
given by our young leaders,
JEANETTE I reflect back on how hard
SAMPSON they have all worked to stand
on that stage. I know our
administrators, teachers, employees, coaches,
families, as well as our board members, look
forward to watching these students continue
on their journey to college, military service or
directly into a career path.
The school board has spent more than a
year working with a citizen-based committee,
engaged in deep dialogue regarding renewal
of our bond for physical improvements to our
schools. I would like to share some of our
findings with you and to request your feed-
back and ideas.
The district last approved a bond for capi-
tal improvements in 2000. Since that time, we
have realized the need to continue our invest-
ments in buildings that support career and
vocational education as well as classrooms
that have modern technology.
Our polling and research has demonstrated
that safety and security are urgent priorities —
including installation and implementation of
cameras and door-lock systems to help keep
students and staff safe while in school. It has
also confirmed our knowledge that district
buildings have aged, and the electrical and
heating systems are inefficient. In one case,
we have a boiler that is more than 100 years
old — installed back when Model Ts were
The Astoria High School Class of 2018 participates in the graduation ceremony.
replacing the horse and buggy.
The bond that passed in 2000 is soon-to-be
expiring, and we know we need to continue
to provide the best possible learning envi-
ronment for our students in the future. It is
very important that, as elected Astoria School
Board members, we hear from our community
members about priorities our schools should
be undertaking, both in terms of facility proj-
ects, as well as ideas on how we can continue
to make Astoria the best place for our students
to gain an outstanding education.
Over the next few months, school board
members will be out in the community asking
you what your thoughts are on our district.
Please let me know if we can come meet with
your group. I invite you all to visit our website
to share your thoughts at astoriaschoolbond.
org.
Investing in the future
I want to say thank you to the citizens
of Astoria for helping our students on their
journey. Whether you are a district employee,
volunteer, community supporter, a prior stu-
dent of our district, or have kids, grandkids or
other family members attending our schools,
you have made significant investments in our
region’s future by investing in the education
of our children.
These young adults are future farmers,
health care workers, firefighters, law
enforcement, teachers, technology specialists,
small-business owners and more, both here in
Clatsop County and beyond. As a community,
we should be very proud of the students who
are graduating and know that the district is
working very hard to meet the needs of all
students who walk through our doors.
We are unique in Astoria in that every
student who attends school — beginning in
prekindergarten — will touch each of our
schools, so every one of our buildings and our
staff members in those buildings, as well as
our staff who transport our students between
those buildings, is critical to the success of all
students attending our district.
The Astoria School District has given
me many reasons to be proud as a board and
community member.
The district’s teachers are leading the
way. They have more than 1,723 combined
years of teaching experience, with 78 percent
having earned advanced degrees and certifi-
cations. With national teacher turnover rates
at an all-time high, we are recognized across
Oregon for recruiting and retaining quality
teachers who proudly serve our students and
community.
Preparing for college and the workforce,
Astoria High School students complete
college credit-bearing coursework and
vocational training concurrently with high
school courses. Over the last three years,
students have earned more than 4,200 college
credits through our partnership with Clatsop
Community College, saving students and their
families thousands of dollars in tuition and
fees.
Our amazing teachers and support staff,
as well as valuable community partnerships,
continue to be an investment into the future of
our district.
On behalf of the school board, thank
you again for your continued support of our
students.
Jeanette Sampson is an Astoria resident,
parent, active community member and chair-
person of the Astoria School District Board of
Directors.
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Replace income tax
with a sales tax
I
n the front-page article, “Oregon
most reliant state on state income taxes”
(The Daily Astorian, July 3), the Tax
Foundation findings are about how dramati-
cally the taxes fluctuate and how they “tend to
be more harmful to economic growth than con-
sumption taxes,” ... “and that they are a less
stable source of revenue because many peo-
ple see their income fluctuate with the business
cycle.”
I have believed for quite some time now
that Oregon should replace the income tax
with a sales tax.
1. The sales tax has a much broader base
than the income tax.
2. Income tax systems tend to create more
of an adversarial relationship between the gov-
ernment and its people than a sales tax.
3. We have quite a tourist industry that uses
our infrastructure. Can we be like other states,
and tap into that resource?
4. With a sales tax everybody would be
vested. It is human nature to care more about
something you are vested in.
5. And my favorite part is … sales tax is
optional. If you truly are struggling, you prob-
ably will not be in the market for a new car or
other high-tax items.
6. If we follow the example in most states,
food is exempt, and programs to help those in
need would continue to be funded.
ALICE CHALOUX
Warrenton
Time to stand and
fight on Supreme Court
T
he July 5 Associated Press news story,
“Justice Ginsburg bemoans partisan
divide in Congress,” by Aron Heller, set
against the backdrop of a Supreme Court jus-
tice nomination, reads as part of the effort
to pressure Congress into nominating Presi-
dent Donald Trump’s pick, in spite of it being
written about the words of a liberal Supreme
Court justice.
Republicans denied the Merrick Garland
hearing for 11 months, thus preventing Pres-
ident Obama from carrying out his constitu-
tional duty, as well as denying the majority of
Americans a justice more in line with our val-
ues. But now the Democrats will be vilified as
they try the same tactic. Well if it’s good for
the goose …
Recently The Daily Astorian offered
what appeared a strong stand in an editorial,
“Enough — This is not America” (June 28).
Yet, where was the foresight of The Daily
Astorian editorial board? The kind of mal-
ice and cruelty we’ve witnessed with chil-
dren being torn from their migrant parents,
then imprisoned, shouldn’t come as a surprise
to anyone. It’s the direction the Fox News/
Trump train has always been heading, and
still is.
Presidents come and go, but the Supreme
Court can shape the nation for generations.
Now is not the time for bipartisanship. Now is
the time for the Democrats and allies to stand
and fight.
MICHAEL A. “SASHA” MILLER
Astoria
America is against
breastfeeding babies?
A
merica is against breastfeeding babies
(“U.S. Opposition to Breast-Feeding Res-
olution Stuns World Health Officials,” The
New York Times, July 8)? I have to guess
that there is no bottom to the depths that the
Trump administration will stoop to curry
favor with corporations.
On July 8, they blackmailed Ecuador into
not submitting a proposal at a World Health
Organization meeting that supported breast-
feeding and the reduction of the use of facto-
ry-made baby food. They did this by threat-
ening loss of military aid and imposing trade
restrictions.
The U.S. delegation also did the same with
several other small countries; Russia ended
this by putting this resolution up for vote. The
U.S. is the villain, while Russia is the good
guy?
CHUCK MEYER
Astoria
Head Start is a
tried and true program
T
he answer to the preschool situation is
simple (“North Coast preschool advocates
prepare for pilot study,” The Daily Astorian,
July 6).
Allow Head Start to qualify children up
to the 300 percent of poverty point, and fund
them for paying acceptable wages. I do real-
ize that Head Start is not a part of the public
school system, but work with them. It is a true
and tried program, already in place.
DOREEN WALGREN
Seaside
‘O beautiful’ is
my kind of America
n these troubled times, I can think of no
song that better captures the greatness and
spirit of America than “America the Beauti-
ful,” our signature patriotic song.
Sadly, I sometimes forget the men and
women who died for my freedom. It’s often
I
hard for me to grasp their bravery and con-
viction to the freedom I sometimes take for
granted.
When I first listened to legendary blues-
man Ray Charles’ stunning interpretation of
“America,” I heard him launch his recording
with a dark third stanza which reads:
“O beautiful for heroes proved/ In liberat-
ing strife/ Who more than self their country
loved/ And mercy more than life./ America!
America!/ May God thy gold refine/ Till all
success be nobleness/ And every gain divine.”
Moving to a prayer that asks that those
sacrifices not be in vain, Ray Charles implied
that Americans must earn the very familiar
verse that follows:
“Oh beautiful for spacious skies/ For
amber waves of grain/ For purple mountain
majesties/ Above the fruited plain.”
“O beautiful” has captured my heart, mov-
ing me to tears and a real sense of patriotic
feeling, conveying an attitude of appreciation
and gratitude for our nation’s extraordinary
physical beauty and abundance,
When he sang, “God done shed His grace on
thee,” Ray Charles was transforming an anthem
to a hymn. Ray Charles’ rendition remains the
least boastful of patriotic songs, and even so, his
version teaches us all a new humility.
And that’s beautiful!
ROBERT BRAKE
Ocean Park, Washington