East Oregonian : E.O., January 27, 2017, Image 1

TRUMP
PROPOSES
IMPORT TAX
DAWGS
DEFEAT
EAGLES
California
ponders
secession
NATION/5A
SPORTS/1B
NATION/10A
FRIDAY, JANUARY 27, 2017
141st Year, No. 74
One dollar
WINNER OF THE 2016 ONPA GENERAL EXCELLENCE AWARD
Your Weekend
•
•
•
ArtWORKz exhibit
opening at Tamastslikt
EOCCO Provider Forum
on pain management
Project Community
Connect in Hermiston
For times and places
see Coming Events, 5A
Catch a movie
GROWING
GRADUATES
Dale Robinette/Lionsgate via AP
Oscar-nominated musical
“La La Land” comes to
Wildhorse Cineplex
For showtime, Page 5A
Weekend Weather
Fri
Sat
36/23
36/22
Sun
39/26
State says
schools can
write off
14 hours of
class time
Ed board deals with
widespread closures
By PARIS ACHEN
Capital Bureau
SALEM — The Oregon
Board of Education has
approved a temporary rule
to allow schools to opt out of
14 hours of state-mandated
instructional time for this
school year for inclement
weather or facility closures.
The board unanimously
passed the rule Thursday at
the request of several school
districts that closed schools
for several days in December
and January dues to snow
and ice storms statewide.
“It’s
really
unusual
circumstances that is making
us consider this fl exibility,”
said Salam Noor, deputy
superintendent of the Oregon
EO fi le photo
While the graduation rate in Oregon increased by one percentage point in 2016,
most local school districts found their way to even higher rates
Pendleton focuses
on attendance,
fi nds rise in
graduation rate
2015-16
By JAYATI RAMAKRISHNAN
East Oregonian
(41)
(36)
Hermiston’s graduation rate increased
slightly in 2016, but not as much as in
neighboring districts and it remains below
the state average.
Hermiston School District’s overall
graduation rate for the 2015-2016 school
year is 65.7 percent, compared to the
previous school year’s 64.1 percent
graduation rate. The state average is 74.8
percent.
Assistant
superintendent
Bryn
Browning said the rates combine the
statistics for Hermiston High School
and the Innovative Learning Center, the
district’s alternative school, which stopped
operating this year.
The graduation rate for Hermiston
High School in 2015-2016 is 87.6 percent,
a jump from last year’s 86.5 percent.
For the Innovative Learning Center,
the graduation rate was 4.1 percent, but
the completion rate — which includes
receiving a GED or modifi ed diploma —
is 37.8 percent.
The Innovative Learning Center, which
the district had operated for about fi ve
Graduation rate
by percent
Number
graduated*
100% (10)
80%
(8)
School/region
Helix
100
100
90
Pilot Rock
The Pendleton School District has a
reason to throw its cap in the air.
According to data released by the
Oregon Department of Education
Thursday, Pendleton’s graduation rate
for the 2015-2016 school year was 83.9
percent, a signifi cant improvement from
74.5 percent in 2014-2015.
While past years have seen the district
hover around the state average, the nearly
10-point bump put Pendleton well above
Oregon’s 74.8 percent rate.
Matt Yoshioka, Pendleton’s director of
curriculum, instruction and assessment,
said the district’s focus on attendance
was a factor in getting more seniors to
graduation day.
Yoshioka said studies show students
that miss 10 or more days of school are
put at a serious academic disadvantage.
To prevent students from becoming
chronically absent, Pendleton launched
a public awareness campaign, began
holding weekly staff meetings to discuss
attendance and hired a school support
liaison for Pendleton High School to work
(27)
(22)
2014-15
Ukiah
By JAYATI RAMAKRISHNAN and
ANTONIO SIERRA
East Oregonian
(2)
(7)
Hermiston sees
slight uptick,
lags behind
nearby growth
Graduation rates compared
78.6
85.4
93.5
Athena-Weston
Stanfield
85.3
82.2
(28)
(34)
Morrow Co.
85.1
73.9
(118)
(120)
84.6
87.5
Echo
83.9
74.5
Pendleton
76.9
Ione
94.4
(22)
(14)
(218)
(182)
(9)
(15)
State of Oregon
74.8
73.8
(33,260)
(30,984)
Milton-Freewater
73.6
74.2
(98)
(91)
Umatilla
Hermiston
Source: Oregon Department of Education
72.2
64.7
(73)
(76)
65.7
64.1
(241)
(236)
*Total diplomas awarded for the school year.
Antonio Sierra and Alan Kenaga/EO Media Group
See PENDLETON/10A
See HERMISTON/10A
“We hold the school district’s goal that all of our students will continue to improve.”
—Bryn Browning, Hermiston School District Assistant superintendent
See TIME/10A
UMATILLA
No action taken on mayor’s concerns over city manager
By JADE MCDOWELL
East Oregonian
A special Umatilla City Council
meeting in executive session on
Wednesday night did not end with
any public action or discussion.
The media is barred from
reporting on discussions that
take place in executive sessions.
However, on Monday Mayor David
Trott told the East Oregonian that he
had requested the special meeting to
address concerns he had about city
manager Russ Pelleberg.
He said one of those concerns
was with the job employment
application submitted by Pelleberg
when he applied in 2013 to be the
city’s public works director. Trott
left the mayor’s offi ce in 2011 and
was re-elected in 2014, and wasn’t
Trott
Pelleberg
involved in Pelleberg’s hiring.
Pelleberg was promoted by the
city council to city manager in
March 2016 after the council asked
then-city manager Bob Ward if he
would retire early to make way for
Pelleberg.
Pelleberg’s application, obtained
from the city by the East Oregonian
through a public records request,
showed an employment history
dating back to 1991 that included
engineering positions with the city
of Pasco and city of Kennewick,
ownership of Columbia River
Journeys and RNK Consultants,
and a stint as the assistant manager
of Columbia Irrigation District from
2010 to 2012.
Under reason for leaving
Columbia
Irrigation
District
Pelleberg wrote “elimination of
position.” Trott said he believes that
is a false statement.
Public meeting minutes from a
May 2012 meeting of the irrigation
district’s board, obtained by the East
Oregonian on Monday, show the
board voted to terminate Pelleberg’s
employment.
The attached instructions to
then-manager Keith Martin, signed
by each member of the board, state
that Pelleberg was to be terminated
for “unsatisfactory performance”
and given two weeks pay but “leave
immediately.”
However, current Columbia
Irrigation District manager Howard
Ellison said the district hasn’t fi lled
the assistant manager position since
Pelleberg’s dismissal. He noted that
Martin was also dismissed by the
board after Pelleberg’s departure.
Pelleberg’s application also
states that he received an electronics
technician certifi cate from Spokane
Community College (1984-1986),
Bachelor of Science in civil engi-
neering (2001-2003) and Master
of Business Administration with a
concentration in executive manage-
ment (2004-2007) from Breyer State
See UMATILLA/10A