Page 4A
OPINION
East Oregonian
Saturday, April 22, 2017
Founded October 16, 1875
KATHRYN B. BROWN
Publisher
DANIEL WATTENBURGER
Managing Editor
TIM TRAINOR
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OUR VIEW: MAY ELECTION
Keeping up
with runaway
enrollment in
Hermiston
At first blush, it doesn’t make
sense for a school district dealing
with exceptional growth to tear down
two schools.
That was our first thought about
the $104 million bond the Hermiston
School District is floating on May 16.
The district needs every classroom
and campus it can get, even the
imperfect ones.
But after listening at public
meetings and long private discussions
with the school district — as well
as proponents and opponents of the
bond — we changed our mind.
The bond before voters next month
is another step toward a massive
restructuring of a school district that
is going through a massive change.
It solves some pressing short-term
problems, and it sets the district up to
solve the bigger long-term problems of
overcrowding and facilities designed
to serve a drastically different student
body than the one that walks through
its doors each school day.
Briefly, here’s what the bond
would do: Build a new elementary
school off Theater Lane, replace
Rocky Heights Elementary, replace
Highland Hills Elementary, renovate
Sandstone Middle School and expand
Hermiston High School.
That’s a lot of work and the price
tag reflects it. $104 million is some
serious dough. Hermiston property
owners will pay an additional 90
cents per $1,000 of assessed value
in local property taxes, which are
currently $4.09 per $1,000 for
education. The bond therefore would
increase education taxes to right
about $5 per $1,000, although the
burden is likely to spread over more
taxpayers (including businesses) as
the city continues to grow.
The problems with district
facilities are clear. Growth has
OTHER VIEWS
The crisis of Western civ
kept up with the most aggressive
expectations, which has required the
district to use 34 modular classrooms
to educate students. Superintendent
Fred Maiocco told us that number
could be as high as 50 in two years. If
the bond doesn’t pass, students may
have to go to school in shifts, or in
summer, or other equally desperate
options.
The district ran a $69.9 million
bond in 2008 to replace and expand
three much older schools. Now
almost 10 years later, the bond
is $104 million for even more
renovations. Expect another bond
in a decade or so, possibly to build
another high school. Expansion
into the former Umatilla County
fairgrounds is already underway.
These are steps toward a complete
rebuild, a complete renovation, a
complete re-imagining of a district
that educates nearly half of the
county’s students. That’s not easy or
cheap to do. But it’s necessary.
The fact is that the Hermiston
schools that are tabbed for destruction
and reconstruction had been built
at a different time and just don’t
cut it anymore. Highest among the
problems are the outdoor hallways,
creating safety concerns. The schools
that would be built with this bond are
what is required now.
Growing pains are natural. Every
person and every city and every
school district must go through them.
Taxes are always a pain, and we
understand there’s never a good time
for more of them.
But what you can demand
when paying those taxes is that the
Hermiston School District build what
will be useful to students the day
construction is finished, as well as 50
years from now.
We’re convinced that it does.
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.
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.
Submitted letters must be signed by the author and include the city of resi-
dence and a daytime phone number. The phone number will not be published.
Unsigned letters will not be published. Send letters to 211 S.E. Byers Ave.
Pendleton, OR 97801 or email editor@eastoregonian.com.
etween 1935 and 1975, Will
More and more governments,
and Ariel Durant published
including the Trump administration,
a series of volumes that
begin to look like premodern
together were known as “The Story
mafia states, run by family-based
of Civilization.” They basically
commercial clans. Meanwhile,
told human history (mostly Western
institutionalized, party-based
history) as an accumulation of
authoritarian regimes, like in China
great ideas and innovations, from
or Russia, are turning into premodern
the Egyptians, through Athens,
cults of personality/Maximum Leader
David
Magna Carta, the Age of Faith, the
regimes, which are far more unstable
Brooks
Renaissance and the Declaration of
and dangerous.
Comment
the Rights of Man. The series was
Then there has been the collapse
phenomenally successful, selling more
of the center. For decades, center-left
than 2 million copies.
and center-right parties clustered around
That series encapsulated the Western
similar versions of democratic capitalism that
civilization narrative that people, at least in
Western civilization seemed to point to. But
Europe and North America, used for most
many of those centrist parties, like the British
of the past few centuries to explain their
and Dutch Labour Parties, are in near collapse.
place in the world and in time. This narrative
Fringe parties rise.
was confidently progressive. There were
In France, the hard-right Marine Le Pen
certain great figures, like Socrates, Erasmus,
and the hard-left Jean-Luc Mélenchon could
Montesquieu and Rousseau, who helped
be the final two candidates in the presidential
fitfully propel the nations to higher reaches of
runoff. Le Pen has anti-liberal views about
the humanistic ideal.
national purity. Mélenchon is a supposedly
This Western civ narrative came with certain democratic politician who models himself on
values — about the importance of reasoned
Hugo Chávez.
discourse, the importance of property rights,
If those two end up in the finals, then the
the need for a public square that was religiously European Union and NATO, the two great
informed but not theocratically dominated.
liberal institutions of modern Europe, will go
It set a standard for what great statesmanship
into immediate crisis.
looked like. It gave diverse people a sense of
Finally, there has been the collapse
shared mission and a common vocabulary, set
of liberal values at home. On American
a framework within which political argument
campuses, fragile thugs who call themselves
could happen and most important provided a set students shout down and abuse speakers on a
of common goals.
weekly basis. To read Heather MacDonald’s
Starting decades ago, many people,
account of being pilloried at Claremont
especially in the universities, lost faith in
McKenna College is to enter a world of
the Western civilization narrative. They
chilling intolerance.
stopped teaching it, and the great cultural
In America, the basic fabric of civic self-
transmission belt broke. Now many students,
government seems to be eroding following the
if they encounter it, are taught that Western
loss of faith in democratic ideals. According
civilization is a history of oppression.
to a study published in The Journal of
It’s amazing what far-reaching effects this
Democracy, the share of young Americans
has had. It is as if a prevailing wind, which
who say it is absolutely important to live in
powered all the ships at sea, had suddenly
a democratic country has dropped from 91
ceased to blow. Now various scattered enemies percent in the 1930s to 57 percent today.
of those Western values have emerged, and
While running for office, Donald Trump
there is apparently nobody to defend them.
violated every norm of statesmanship built up
The first consequence has been the rise of
over these many centuries, and it turned out
the illiberals, authoritarians who not only don’t many people didn’t notice or didn’t care.
believe in the democratic values of the Western
The faith in the West collapsed from
civilization narrative, but don’t even pretend to within. It’s amazing how slow people have
believe in them, as former dictators did.
been to rise to defend it.
Over the past few years especially, we have
There have been a few lonely voices.
entered the age of strong men. We are leaving
Andrew Michta laments the loss of Western
the age of Obama, Cameron and Merkel and
confidence in an essay in The American
entering the age of Vladimir Putin, Recep
Interest. Edward Luce offers a response in his
Tayyip Erdogan, Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi, Xi
forthcoming book “The Retreat of Western
Jinping, Kim Jong Un and Donald Trump.
Liberalism.” But liberalism has been docile in
The events last week in Turkey were just
defense of itself.
another part of the trend. Erdogan dismantles
These days, the whole idea of Western civ
democratic institutions and replaces them with is assumed to be reactionary and oppressive.
majoritarian dictatorship. Turkey seems to
All I can say is, if you think that was
have lost its desire to join the European idea,
reactionary and oppressive, wait until you get
which no longer has magnetism and allure.
a load of the world that comes after it.
Turkey seems to have lost its aspiration to join
■
the community of democracies because that’s
David Brooks became a New York Times
no longer the inevitable future.
Op-Ed columnist in 2003.
B
YOUR VIEWS
Vert has problems, but
still great for a show
Seeing that the arts nonprofit
I represent maintains its office
within and produces most of its
concerts at the Vert, I felt it prudent
provide a response to Mr. Rohde’s
letter regarding the state of the
auditorium.
Although there are many things
left to be desired about the Vert
building — and what wouldn’t be
for a building constructed in 1936?
— the Oregon East Symphony and
I understand that city funds are
limited and that the building is not
the city of Pendleton’s top priority.
However, I commend the recent
maintenance and improvement
efforts undertaken by city manager
Robb Corbett, facilities manager
Glenn Graham and his crew.
Two years ago the building was
re-roofed in order to stave off
potential water damage and the
lobby ceiling, which was nearly
falling down, was re-plastered. I
even noticed this afternoon that
a vent had been installed in the
projection booth in order to prevent
the balcony from overheating
during a performance. We are also
grateful to the city of Pendleton for
the nonprofit rate that it charges us
and other local organizations for
use of the facility in order to allow
us produce events that fit within our
budget.
To my recollection we have not
seen Mr. Rohde attend any of our
events but I certainly hope that he
and the public attend our concert
at the Vert this Saturday in order
to appreciate this fine municipal
resource, in spite of any real or
perceived shortcomings it may
have.
J.D. Kindle
Executive Director
Oregon East Symphony
Fire bond provides
multiple benefits to city
There are three points that
strike me as I contemplate my
vote on the bond measure that
would bring a new fire station and
lifesaving equipment to the city of
Pendleton. First is the current fire
station does not fill the needs of our
city. In letters to the editors where
disagreement seems to be the norm,
there seems to be virtually no
disagreement on this point.
Point two is the location. Several
have opined that the location is
inappropriate. Yet those who do the
work every day (firefighters) state
the opposite, as does a study that
looked into all of the commonly
proposed locations. In this regard,
I choose to believe those who do
the work for a living and those who
studied the location and are without
a motive to choose one over the
other in terms of siting.
Last is the benefit it brings to
the city and its residents. It’s a near
certainty that at some point either
you or a close loved one will need
the aid of firefighters/paramedics.
In these occasions I want well
trained professionals, with proper
equipment, that have the best
chance of reaching me or my
family as quickly as possible.
When I consider these points
contrasted against the financial
cost, the choice is clear. Please join
us as we vote yes on the fire station
bond.
Mark and Marla Royal
Pendleton
Student sees problems
with Hermiston schools
I am writing in support of the
Hermiston school bond that is to
be voted on May 16. As a student
that has been through every level
of my education in the Hermiston
School District, I have seen and
experienced many problems within
the facilities. The majority of these
problems will be addressed with the
passing of the bond.
I began my schooling at
Highland Hills Elementary School
in kindergarten. I remember my
parents telling me about their
experiences at the same elementary
school and, though it did not occur
to me then, Highland Hills was
obviously aging. Providing enough
space for all the students was a
problem.
There was more than one space
used as a classroom that wasn’t
intended to be. These spaces had
to transform since the regular
classrooms and modulars were
already at full capacity.
When I finished the fifth grade
I moved to Sandstone Middle
School. There, for three years,
I formed friendships, created
bonds with the teachers in Team
Jefferson, and struggled to close the
stall doors in the girls’ bathrooms
because most of the locks were
broken.
Alongside my peers, I dealt
with the inconsistent heating and
air conditioning systems, which
seemed to be under maintenance
more often than not.
Finally, I made my way to
Hermiston High School and am still
seeing many of the same problems
that the school faced when I was a
freshman. The most prominent of
these issues is the overcrowding
that is threatening to get worse.
Hermiston High School was
originally built to accommodate
fewer students than we currently
house. With our school district
projecting to gain another 1,100
students in the next seven years,
it is near impossible to add
more students to the classrooms,
hallways and public spaces.
The three modulars recently
added are not built to last the wear
and tear of thousands of students
for very long and they were placed
over parking spaces that were
already dwindling in numbers.
Lastly, we have countless issues
with our electrical, plumbing and
technology systems. An extra
thousand students in our schools
that are getting enough wear as they
are will be a risk to our education
and safety.
Reed Middleton
Hermiston High School junior