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OPINION
East Oregonian
Tuesday, February 14, 2017
Founded October 16, 1875
KATHRYN B. BROWN
Publisher
DANIEL WATTENBURGER
Managing Editor
TIM TRAINOR
Opinion Page Editor
MARISSA WILLIAMS
Regional Advertising Director
MARCY ROSENBERG
Circulation Manager
JANNA HEIMGARTNER
Business Office Manager
MIKE JENSEN
Production Manager
OUR VIEW
Education starts with
the student, not in D.C.
While each of President Donald
Trump’s cabinet choices have
received their share of scrutiny,
none thus far have garnered as much
pushback from the Senate and the
public as Education Secretary Betsy
DeVos.
Perhaps none was less important.
The Department of Education
didn’t even exist until
1980. It has since grown
into a $68 billion a year
operation with 4,400
employees who are tasked
with creating education
policy, collecting data and
focusing national attention
on our nation’s schools.
It should be noted
that American students
have been falling behind
DeVos
worldwide leaders in
education for the decades,
and that has not changed since the
invention of this top-most level of
bureaucracy.
Betsy DeVos does seem, on the
face of it, the most ill-prepared of
Trump’s picks. She has never held a
position in public schools, nor in a
classroom of any kind. And that she
spread millions of her own personal
dollars across nearly all of the
Republicans who voted for her made
the whole confirmation a dubious
dog-and-pony show.
That teacher unions were heavy
backers of nearly all Democratic
senators, and the two Republicans
who opposed DeVos, is just as
much a show of the machinations of
powerful donors.
But it is of little matter, now
that DeVos is installed. Arne
Duncan, who was Barack Obama’s
appointment, spent $7 billion
implementing Common Core, though
student outcomes have nothing to
show for it. And we’re not holding
our breath.
The U.S. education system
ranks 17th in student performance,
according to the
Economist Intelligence
Unit. We are falling
behind Scandinavian
and developed Asian
countries faster than ever
— including countries
who modeled their system
after the U.S. operation of
decades ago. And Oregon
is dragging down even our
nation’s middling mark.
The key to helping
American students
lies in overhauling the tax code,
in revamping and empowering
social programs, reviving a culture
of responsibility and respect for
knowledge, relying on good data yet
minimizing federally-mandated tests.
If done right, all these endeavors
put students first.
Education should be as local an
operation as possible, with districts,
teachers and administrators given
the strength and space to educate
their unique student populations.
Federal oversight, if it is necessary
at all, should be just that — a broad
accountability that seeks to solve
problems instead of creating them.
We will watch DeVos’ leadership
of the department through that filter
as it trickles down to rural Oregon.
Unsigned editorials are the opinion of the East Oregonian editorial board of publisher
Kathryn Brown, managing editor Daniel Wattenburger, and opinion page editor Tim Trainor.
Other columns, letters and cartoons on this page express the opinions of the authors and not
necessarily that of the East Oregonian.
Culture Corner
I
n Donald Trump’s inauguration
speech, he made clear that he was
going to put America first.
The crowd cheered heartily, but of
course Americans make up just 4.4
percent of the world’s population. The
other 95.6 percent were left wondering,
with the shakeup of old alliances, how
they fit in the new world order.
In every stressful situation, comedy
provides a relief valve. And comedians
around the world have not let this
moment go to waste.
The Dutch led the way, producing
a video introduction to their country
intended for the eyes of one President
Trump. It included all the relevant facts
about their tiny nation, was voiced by
a Donald Trump impersonator and
included all of his favorite words. Its
goal was to convince the new president
that, since America comes first, could
The Netherlands please come second?
The video went viral, and other
countries acted fast to keep the Oranje
from having a free run at America’s
heart. Satirical television shows from
across the world produced their own
videos, each in the same style, pleading
for Trump’s good graces. The videos
have now been helpfully collected
at www.everysecondcounts.eu. New
additions seem to arrive every day.
Random clicks on videos from Israel,
Namibia, Denmark and many others
(even Iran!) result in lots of laughs. They
also provide a short refresher on history,
geography and world culture. In between
jokes, they shed light on what political
issues are at the forefront for different
countries around the world, and what
an important place America holds in the
worldwide psyche.
And it’s worth a tour of the world’s
comedy shows just to see who does the
best Trump impression.
—Tim Trainor is opinion page editor
of the East Oregonian.
OTHER VIEWS
Hands off our old rigs
The (Albany) Democrat-Herald, Feb. 12
The apparently short life and relatively
unhappy life of House Bill 2877 should
serve notice to Oregon taxpayers that
legislators will be looking under every
possible rock this session in search of
revenue.
You might have heard about House
Bill 2877, which emerged from the House
Revenue Committee. This is the bill that
would have assessed a $1,000 “impact
tax” every five years on vehicles that were
at least 20 years old. Money from the
tax would have
been directed
to the state
highway fund,
which helps to
pay for work on
Oregon’s roads
and bridges.
To be fair,
the bill would
have exempted
vehicles
registered as
antiques. It’s not
clear how much
revenue such a tax would raise.
The theory behind the bill apparently
was that these older vehicles inflict a
disproportionate amount of wear and tear
on the state’s transportation infrastructure.
We say “apparently,” because that’s not
entirely clear — and members of the House
Revenue Committee weren’t talking much
about the bill, although a representative
of the committee, presumably reacting to
a public outcry against the bill, did say
Friday that it would not be considered by
the Legislature.
Well, that’s a little bit of comfort, but
it’s worth remembering the ease by which
legislative proposals thought dead can be
resurrected as the session wears on.
In any event, we come not to praise
House Bill 2877, but to bury it: This
is exactly the kind of legislation that
Oregonians point to when they argue that
state officials pay little heed to the needs
of the rural portions of the state. The bill,
for example, didn’t include any provision
for farm vehicles, many of which are older
than 20 years but which nevertheless are in
good working condition.
And the bill also would have done a
disservice to those Oregonians who still
are economically struggling and must
drive older vehicles.
Rep. Sherrie Sprenger of Scio said it
well: The bill was a “legislative indictment
of poor Oregonians.”
“When I first heard about this, I
thought it was ridiculous, just one more
way to punish folks who can’t compete
with Portland liberal standards and don’t
want to,” Sprenger said, noting that she
and her husband, Kyle, own two vehicles
that would have
been subject to the
impact tax.
Rep. Andy
Olson, who
represents Albany,
had much the same
reaction: “This bill
does not take into
consideration the
rural environment
of our state, or
the folks who try
to maintain their
vehicles for a long
time,” he said in a statement. “Many are
not in a financial position to purchase
anything newer and others just like to keep
their vehicles a long time because it is
fiscally prudent.”
As a tax increase, the bill would have
required support from Republicans as well
as Democrats, who do not quite have the
three-fifths majorities in either house of
the Legislature required. And it seems
likely that this bill would have attracted
some opposition from Democrats as well.
An interesting side note: Since revenue
from the impact tax would have gone
to the state highway fund, that suggests
that legislators are looking not just for
money to plug the state’s estimated $1.8
billion gap in the general fund but also for
alternatives to an increase in the gas tax to
help fund one of the session’s top priorities:
a transportation package to pay for needed
work on Oregon’s roads and bridges.
That search may yet come up with some
intriguing alternatives, but this so-called tax
on clunkers isn’t one of them: This one is
just a lemon, through and through.
The bill also would have
done a disservice to
those Oregonians who
still are economically
struggling and must
drive older vehicles.
LETTERS POLICY
The East Oregonian welcomes original letters of 400 words or less on public issues
and public policies for publication in the newspaper and on our website. The newspaper
reserves the right to withhold letters that address concerns about individual services and
products or letters that infringe on the rights of private citizens. Submitted letters must
be signed by the author and include the city of residence and a daytime phone number.
The phone number will not be published. Unsigned letters will not be published. Send
letters to managing editor Daniel Wattenburger, 211 S.E. Byers Ave. Pendleton, OR 97801
or email editor@eastoregonian.com.
YOUR VIEWS
Pendleton School District
values public input
The EO recently gave a “Kick in the
Pants” to the Pendleton School District
“for sending out a survey with unworkable
choices … (leaving) the public feeling …
misled and patronized.”
On behalf of the Pendleton School
Board, we completely disagree with
that statement. All choices listed on our
survey were actual choices. There was no
misleading of anyone. What would have
been misleading was if we had just listed
our two favorite choices.
Every option received votes. The least
likely options were getting a waiver without
making up any of the seven missed days or
holding school over spring break ... but they
were still options.
Your statement that “The impossibility
of some of the choices — which included
doing away with late start Mondays….” is
simply not true. That option, in fact, was
one of the two final options being worked
toward, and was not an impossibility.
That was the option that over 50 percent
of teachers and parents, along with some
board members, wanted. That was the
option that the certified union reps drafted
a memorandum of understanding for on
behalf of the teachers. Unfortunately,
through some misunderstanding, that MOU
did not give us enough hours to meet our
obligations.
Oregon students already have one of the
shortest school years in the country; we’re
not trying to give them the minimum just to
get by.
Our contracts and considerations of
Pendleton School District are not the same
as other districts around the state. Some
options available to other districts are
simply not options for us. Conference days,
for example, are not an option in our district
without us paying more.
There are many considerations involved,
including abiding by the contracts of our
classified and certified staff, considering the
costs involved in any decision in these hard
financial times, and most of all, doing what
is best for student learning.
In Pendleton, we value getting feedback
from our staff, our families, and our
community. We do not waste people’s time
by sending out pretend surveys.
We thank the 1,401 people that
responded to our survey. I personally
read every single comment made by
every person that wrote a comment.
Some comments, like making up days
at Round-Up, don’t work because the
resolution has to happen during this school
year. Some comments will be considered as
we plan next year’s calendar.
Every person involved in Pendleton
School District, from school board
members to classroom teachers to the
janitors who clean our schools, is here to
provide an excellent educational experience
for every student in every way we can.
Our dedicated staff will work hard to
educate our children whether it’s on March
14 or June 14, because every day in school
matters.
Debbie McBee
PSD board chairman
Pendleton
Liberal tantrum overlooks
real problems facing nation
It is unbelievable the extent this tantrum
has come to be. And I, one who supports
the right to express a difference of ideas,
am beginning to think this is mindless.
Every effort of President Trump is met
with disagreement and conflict. Is this
disagreement and conflict for the betterment
of our country or the result of liberal/left
people who cannot accept being wrong
about the will of the nation? This man,
President Trump, did more work before
his inauguration than most have done in
their first year of office! He is not a slick
politician and his style may take a little
getting used to but he is not afraid to do the
work. Trump has real world experience,
something lacking in Washington.
I believe we should pull together as a
nation and give this president (unlike any
we have ever had) a chance to make good
his dream of a better America. I don’t
believe we are on the right track now.
Nationally 49 percent of our people receive
welfare benefits. We have 11 million people
here illegally and a larger percentage of
them are using public assistance than the
whole. Our universities are staffed by,
and teach, the liberal thought style. My
granddaughters, whom I dearly love, who
are the products of Northwest universities,
“parrot” to me liberal attitudes that I know
are not products of their own thinking but
the products of the classroom or each other.
“Any falsehood, repeated often enough,
gains credulence.”
Correctly named, the “silent majority”
is that. If you agree and/or disagree I invite
you to speak up. The media, including
our local paper, would have us believe
our future is bleak, that we don’t have a
responsible driver in the bus. I disagree.
Ron Linn
Stanfield
Soon newspaper reporting
will come with penalties
I am appalled at the East Oregonian
newspaper and others that seemingly are
at war with Donald Trump. There was a
time when journalism was a respected
profession, but no longer, as it appears you
are shooting yourselves in the foot.
I predict the demise of reporting as we
know it and penalties provided on reporting
in such a biased and untrue method.
James Tiede
Hermiston