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THE ASTORIAN • SATURDAY, MARCH 20, 2021
Knappa to develop public preschool
Superintendent describes
program as an equity issue
By KATIE FRANKOWICZ
The Astorian
Public preschool is coming to Knappa in
the fall.
The Knappa School District is in the mid-
dle of gathering feedback from the commu-
nity to gauge interest and is awaiting news on
grants that could boost funding , but Superin-
tendent Bill Fritz said the district is prepared to
move forward .
Given the community response so far, he
no longer worries about not having enough
students to make it an economically viable
venture.
“I’m now more worried that we’re not
going to have enough capacity,” Fritz said.
While Knappa does have some private pre-
school options, it does not have any public-
ly-funded preschool. A few students who qual-
ify for Head Start must travel to Astoria and
families are responsible for their transportation .
Meanwhile, Clatsop County — like every
county in Oregon — is considered a child
care desert, meaning there are not enough pre-
school and day care slots available to children
who need them.
School d istrict leaders hope a public pre-
school in Knappa will go a long way to help-
ing families with child care needs, while also
providing a solid educational foundation to
carry children through school in the years to
come.
For Fritz, it is an equity issue as well.
“There are students that come to k inder-
garten ready for school,” he said . Some may
already know their ABCs or have other pre-
reading skills. “Other children come to k in-
dergarten and they’re much more like a blank
slate, ” he said.
As state standards become increasingly
more complex at younger and younger grade
levels, “those children who start further behind
are even further, further behind,” he said. Also,
for some students struggling with certain learn-
ing disabilities, early intervention through a
preschool program may address these issues
and make it so the students do not need spe-
cial services when they get to k indergarten and
higher grades.
Studies have shown early childhood devel-
A new public preschool program in Knappa could help better prepare students.
THE SCHOOL DISTRICT IS NOT INTERESTED IN TURNING
A PROFIT OFF OF THE PRESCHOOL. IT JUST NEEDS TO
COVER THE COST OF RUNNING THE PRESCHOOL.
opment programs like preschool that blend
play and learning can go a long way to closing
educational, emotional and social gaps, said
Dan Gaff ney, a longtime educator who has
worked to develop preschool and other early
learning options on the North Coast, includ-
ing this most recent venture with the Knappa
School District.
He noted that in 2019, only 30% of the dis-
trict’s third grade students met the state’s read-
ing benchmark — an issue that a preschool
program could help address. Third grade read-
ing fl uency is the primary predictor of high
school graduation, he told school board mem-
bers at a recent meeting.
As the school district continues to collect
information from interested parents — more
than 30 families, representing around 50 kids,
have responded to a community survey so far
—it still needs to determine other details .
Right now, for instance, the district does
not have any room on its campus to accommo-
date a preschool and is looking to community
partners to provide space.
OREGON CAPITAL
INSIDER
Cost to families is also unknown. The dis-
trict has not fi gured out yet what the price
of admission will be. The amount of outside
funding the district is able to secure could be
a factor.
The school district is not interested in turn-
ing a profi t off of the preschool, Fritz said.
It just needs to cover the cost of running the
preschool.
District leaders are also discussing a poten-
tial bond to go on the ballot in November. The
scope of this bond has not been fi nalized , but
it could include capital needs for preschool
programs.
Fritz and Gaff ney ask that parents inter-
ested in having their children attend the pre-
school fi ll out a survey available on the school
district’s website.
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SPRING BREAK KID SAFETY
The Astoria
Riverwalk Inn
overlooks the
West Mooring
Basin.
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Edward Stratton/
The Astorian
Astoria Riverwalk Inn wants
clarity before fi xing structure
By EDWARD STRATTON
The Astorian
Ganesh Sonpatki, who runs a network of
properties in the Portland area through Param
Hotel Corp, tried for years to lease the Asto-
ria Riverwalk Inn from the Port of Astoria. He
was spurned repeatedly before suing the Port
and forcing a seven-year lease in 2018.
With less than fi ve years left on his lease
and structural issues piling up, Sonpatki wants
to know his and the hotel’s long-term future
before deciding how much to invest.
The Riverwalk Inn, opened as the Thun-
derbird Inn in the 1960s, wraps around the
West Mooring Basin. Rooms and decks jut
out over the basin , off ering a bird’s-eye view
of the boats below. But the picturesque loca-
tion along the water also means greater main-
tenance costs and battering by wind and rain.
Lenny Cheyney has managed the hotel
through the past several operators. He recently
described to the Port Commission a raft of dry
rot, roof and other structural issues facing the
hotel.
“This last January, when we had that huge
storm with the landslides that happened on
… Highway 30, we had well over 20 leaks
throughout the entire property,” Cheyney
said .
Since lodging restrictions tied to the coro-
navirus pandemic were lifted, the hotel is sell-
ing out the 90 or so rooms it off ers, Cheyney
said. But one room was closed after part of
the ceiling fell from leaking water with guests
inside, he said, while he restricts even his staff
from entering another where rot has caused a
hole in the fl oor.
Cheyney showed the commission numer-
ous photos where support beams and walk-
ways are failing because of rot.
The structural issues come as Param has
been spending to improve the experience at
the hotel, including refurbished rooms and
new furniture. Cheyney said Param plans
to further improve amenities, including an
expanded gym and a lounge in the hotel’s
breakfast area overlooking the water.
Commissioners appeared supportive of
helping Sonpatki, but voiced concern that
some parts of the hotel represent immediate
safety concerns and could need to be closed.
Sonpatki said the hotel would not rent dan-
gerous rooms to guests and is working with
a local architect to assess the level of damage
throughout the property.
But Sonpatki tied the feasibility of lon-
ger-term structural improvements to the
length of his lease and the future of the hotel,
which the Port has contemplated selling.
“Where do you see this building?” the
hotelier asked the Port Commission. “How
does it go in your plans for the future?
“I know there’s a lot of talk about redevel-
opment,” he said. “How likely is that, and are
we looking for a fi ve-year or 10-year, 20-year
plan? I know there was also talk about the
building being sold. But the way the condi-
tion is, by the time somebody walks in there,
they’d have to do all this work anyways to
make it better.”
Commissioner Robert Stevens said the Port
would like to see the Riverwalk Inn become
the crown jewel of Sonpatki’s holdings. But
some of the issues with the hotel seem imme-
diately unsafe to the public and recall past
instances when Port properties were restricted
or closed, he said.
“That should strike some fear into us,” Ste-
vens said.
Hanging over any possible investment in
the building is whether the Port will sell the
hotel and lease the land . The hotel was val-
ued at more than $5 million in a previous
appraisal. An analysis showed the agency
could make up to $4 million more over the
next decade by selling the building and leas-
ing the land.
Will Isom, the Port’s executive director ,
said many of the questions about the future
of the hotel could be answered by the mas-
ter plan Astoria agreed to pay for using urban
renewal money. The plan is expected to be
ready in the fall.
“I do think, at least from my perspective, it
likely makes more sense for the Port to sell the
facility and just maintain a land lease,” he said.
“… This maintenance-repair issue would be a
lot simpler if the building was actually owned
by a private entity, and therefore they have a
built-in business incentive to make sure that
repairs and upkeep are done on the building.”
r your helmet.
Don’t forget to wea
Stop, listen
and look both
ways while c
Always use c
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Never go anyw
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Stay in
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places. Go
with friends
or family.
2240 Commercial Street
Astoria, Oregon
503.325.6362
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