REGION
Saturday, May 20, 2017
East Oregonian
Page 3A
HERMISTON
City to consider waiver
for mobile food vendors
East Oregonian
The Hermiston City
Council will considering
granting a waiver to the
city’s mobile vendor ordi-
nance to allow food trucks
at First Thursday.
The council meets
Monday at 7 p.m. at City
Hall.
The Hermiston Down-
town District, which hosts
an event with entertain-
ment and special deals in
downtown shops on the
first Thursday of each
month, has requested that
the city allow mobile food
vendors to park in parking
spaces downtown for four
hours during the event.
Green grass grazers
Staff photo by E.J. Harris
COMMUNITY CALENDAR
SATURDAY, MAY 20
A herd of deer graze their way across a field below Interstate 84 east of Pendleton on Tuesday.
PENDLETON
Committee sends diminished
budget to school board
Layoffs reduced
to seven after
resignations,
retirement
By ANTONIO SIERRA
East Oregonian
The budget committee’s
look at the Pendleton School
District’s proposed budget
for 2017-2018 gave way to
an impromptu discussion
about declining enrollment.
With incoming super-
intendent Chris Fritsch in
the audience, the budget
committee — a group
comprised of the Pendleton
School Board and seven
community members —
unanimously approved a
$48.3 million budget at a
meeting Thursday, a $13.4
million decrease from the
current fiscal year.
While much of that
decrease is tied to the wind
down in bond projects, it
also includes a $1.4 million
reduction in the general fund,
something that will be felt by
students and staff next year.
The cuts
Although staff are making
some sacrifices — adminis-
trators agreed to forgo cost
of living increases and clas-
sified employees agreed to a
step freeze on the pay scale
— it wasn’t enough to stop
the district from reducing its
workforce by 19.5 positions.
Despite the bleak figures,
the workforce reduction situ-
ation actually looks a little
better than it did a month
ago.
Thanks to some educa-
tional assistant resignations
and
an
administrator
retirement, the district will
only have to lay off seven
employees instead of 10.
Michelle Jones, the
district’s director of business
services, said if the district
continues to receive retire-
ments and resignations, it
will try to fill those empty
positions with employees
who are set to be laid off.
The only service that is
eliminated under the budget
proposal is the Pendleton
High
School
business
program, but it also necessi-
tated the program’s teacher
be laid off.
It may be a drop in the
bucket, but the district is also
creating one new position
this year.
Jones said the new
Washington and Sherwood
Heights elementary schools
are too large to continue
being staffed by a single
secretary.
A
secretary
is being shifted from a
different part of the district
and another will be hired to
double the secretarial staffs
at both schools.
While not connected with
the general fund, the district
is also eliminating the family
advocate position at Wash-
ington, which was funded by
a year-long $150,000 grant
from the state.
Jones said the district
won’t make any large tech-
nology purchases in the next
fiscal year.
While the district usually
buys about 200 computers a
year to stay current on tech-
nology, it will refrain from
any large-scale purchases,
spending
its
hardware
budget on licensing fees or
emergency purchases.
By now, the factors the
district attributes to these
cuts is well known — a
lack of state funding and
declining enrollment.
State funding
In his budget message,
interim superintendent Matt
Yoshioka was unsparing in
his assessment of the state
education system.
“Currently,
Oregon
students receive approxi-
mately one year less K-12
cumulative
instructional
time than the national
average,” he wrote. “We
have the second largest class
sizes in the U.S., with six
more students per teacher
than the national average
and, not surprisingly, we
rank near the bottom in
graduation rates and closing
the achievement gap.”
According
to
the
Confederation of Oregon
School Administrators, the
Oregon Quality Education
Commission
determined
that the state would need
to spend $9.1 billion in the
2017-2019 biennium to
reach the national average in
instructional time and class
size.
Jones said the district
is anticipating $7.8 billion
statewide for the next
biennium. The district is
projecting its share to be
$22.86 million, down from
$23 million in this year.
The district also isn’t
counting on funds from
Measure 98, a voter-ap-
proved
initiative
that
allocated more funding for
dropout prevention.
With the state not
providing a clear picture on
how much money school
districts will get, Jones said
they didn’t want to count on
that source of funding.
Declining enrollment
While the Oregon Legis-
lature continues to wrangle
with the state budget, a local
issue is also hurting the
district’s bottom line.
Jones shared a slide that
showed the district’s enroll-
ment in a prolonged decline.
According to an Oct.
1 headcount, Pendleton’s
student population has
declined every year from
2011 to 2016, shrinking from
3,337 to 3,155.
The state determines its
funding by student enroll-
ment through a metric called
average daily membership.
Since part-time students are
funded less than full-time
students, Jones said the
district is actually funded
less than the raw headcount
would imply.
When asked why enroll-
ment was declining, Yosh-
ioka said the spread of online
The exemption is needed
to allow vending from a
public street instead of a
private parking lot.
On Monday the council
will also hear a presenta-
tion from the city’s Rose
Festival float committee,
which is designing a “mini-
float” to represent Herm-
iston in the festival’s Grand
Floral Parade on June 10 in
Portland.
The rest of the council’s
meeting will consist of
consent agenda items and
reports on city commit-
tees, city finances and the
Eastern Oregon Trade and
Event Center. There is no
work session before the
regular meeting.
charter schools and the city’s
housing crunch were contrib-
uting to the decline.
Yoshioka said he recently
had a conversation with
Pendleton Mayor John
Turner and was encouraged
by the city’s efforts to
improve the housing stock.
The online charter school
issue will take more legwork
from the school district.
Yoshioka said the district
has long seen more students
transfer out than transfer in,
but the ease of signing up for
one of Oregon’s many online
charter school services has
presented stiff competition
for state money.
Yoshioka said the district
is looking to start an online
school of its own through
the InterMountain Education
Service District’s IMESD
Online program to bring
back some local students
back into the fold.
“The world is changing
really
fast,”
budget
committee member Kevin
Hale said. “It’s about how
you adapt to it.”
The school board will
adopt a final budget June 12.
———
Contact Antonio Sierra at
asierra@eastoregonian.com
or 541-966-0836.
PENDLETON
EAGLES
STEAK AND LIVE MUSIC,
6-11:30 p.m., Pendleton Eagles
Lodge, 428 S. Main St., Pendle-
ton. Dinner from 6-8 p.m., music
from 8 p.m. to midnight. Mem-
bers and guests welcome. (541-
278-2828)
SUNDAY, MAY 21
PENDLETON
EAGLES
BREAKFAST, 9 a.m.-12 p.m.,
Pendleton Eagles Lodge, 428
S. Main St., Pendleton. Open
to members and guests. (541-
278-2828)
WHITE EAGLE GRANGE,
5 p.m., White Eagle Grange
Hall, 43828 White Eagle Road,
Pendleton. 5 p.m. potluck,
meeting to follow. (Gail Wilson
541-276-3778)
MONDAY, MAY 22
BOARDMAN
QUILT
GROUP, 9 a.m.-1:30 p.m.,
Boardman Senior Center, 100
Tatone St., Boardman. Quilt
construction, quilting updates,
education, history and friend-
ship. Free. (Kathy Hyder 541-
571-7009)
NARFE OF HERMISTON,
12 p.m., Desert Lanes Bowling
Alley, 1545 N. First St., Herm-
iston. No-host lunch. All federal
employees, retirees and spous-
es are welcome. (541-567-
2648)
IRRIGON MOOSE LODGE
TACOS AND BINGO, 6-9 p.m.,
Irrigon Moose Lodge, 220 N.E.
Third St., Irrigon. Tacos from
6-9 p.m., bingo from 6:30-9 p.m.
Open to members and guests.
(541-922-1802)
WESTON CHAMBER OF
COMMERCE, 6 p.m., Memorial
Hall, 210 E. Main St., Weston.
VFW POST NO. 922 SO-
CIAL, 6:30 p.m., Pendleton
VFW Hall, 1221 S.E. Court
Place, Pendleton. (541-278-
2720)
INLAND
NORTHWEST
MUSICIANS CHORALE RE-
HEARSAL, 7-9 p.m., Harris Jr.
Academy gymnasium, 3121
S.W. Hailey Ave., Pendleton.
No tryouts; all welcome. No re-
hearsals June-July-August or
Christmas-New Year. (RaNiel
Dunn 541-289-4696)
TUESDAY, MAY 23
PENDLETON
TOAST-
MASTERS NO. 154, 6:30 a.m.,
Pendleton City Hall community
room, 501 S.W. Emigrant Ave.,
Pendleton.
TOPS
CHAPTER
OR
1110, 8 a.m., Missionary Bap-
tist Church, 125 E. Beech St.,
Hermiston. 8 a.m. weigh-in fol-
lowed by meeting at 8:45 a.m.
(Margaret Wetterling 541-720-
0276)
HERMISTON STATE OF
THE CITY BREAKFAST, 8
a.m., Hermiston Conference
Center, 415 S. Highway 395,
Hermiston. Join the Hermiston
Chamber of Commerce and
city officials for an update on
city happenings, including the
Harkenrider Center, EOTEC,
Festival Street and more. Cost
is $10 for members, $13 for
non-members, RSVP required.
Public welcome. (Debbie Pedro
541-567-6151)
GREENFIELD
GRANGE
PINOCHLE, 10 a.m.-2 p.m.,
Greenfield Grange 579, 209
N.W. First St., Boardman. (541-
481-7397)
BIBLE STUDY, 10 a.m.,
First United Methodist Church,
352 S.E. Second St., Pendle-
ton. (Rev. Jim Pierce 541-276-
2616)
“THE LIFE MODEL: LIVING
FROM THE HEART JESUS
GAVE YOU” BOOK STUDY
GROUP, 1-2:30 p.m., Bowman
Building, 17 S.W. Frazer Ave.,
Pendleton. (Pat 541-276-6671)
TOPS CHAPTER OR 1169,
4-5:30 p.m., Hermiston Assem-
bly of God Church, 730 E. Hurl-
burt Ave., Hermiston. Use west
side door. (Janell Bailey 541-
571-5744)
STUDYING THE MIRA-
CLES OF JESUS, 4-6 p.m.,
Good Samaritan Ministries,
319 W. Locust Ave., Hermiston.
(541-564-1041)
COLUMBIA RIVER TOAST-
MASTERS, 6-7 p.m., Umatilla
Senior Center, Umatilla.
AWANA, 6:30-8 p.m., Pend-
leton Baptist Church, 3202 S.W.
Nye Ave., Pendleton. For chil-
dren age 3 through sixth grade.
(541-276-7590)
A SHARP PLAYERS OR-
CHESTRA
REHEARSAL,
6:30-8:30 p.m., Pendleton High
School band room, 1800 N.W.
Carden Ave., Pendleton. Inter-
mediate orchestra for players of
any instrument. (JD Kindle 541-
276-0320)
PRELUDES ORCHESTRA
REHEARSAL, 6:30 p.m., Blue
Mountain Community College
McRae Activity Center, 2411
N.W. Carden Ave., Pendleton.
For beginning strings players
of all ages. (JD Kindle 541-276-
0320)
L i t t le
D a r l i n gs !
This special section will be fi lled with photos of and
messages for adorable little darlings from Umatilla County.
Families will want to keep this special keepsake for
their child and family for years to come.
PUBLISHES:
June 28, 2017
DEADLINES:
SUBMIT COMMUNITY NEWS
June 08, 2017
Submit information to: community@eastoregonian.com or drop off to the attention of
Tammy Malgesini at 333 E. Main St., Hermiston or Renee Struthers at 211 S.E. Byers
Ave., Pendleton. Call 541-564-4539 or 541-966-0818 with questions.
"Scram ble for
Scholarships"
Friday, June 9th
1pm Shotgun Start
Olivia,
t.
I loved you from the very star
heart.
my
ed
rac
emb
,
You stole my breath
un.
beg
just
has
er
Our life togeth
.
You’re part of me, my little one
Love, Mom
Big River Golf Course - Umatilla
Golfers of all skill levels are being invited to participate in the 24 th annual
"Scramble for Scholarships" golf tournament. Four person teams can sign
up together or individuals pairings can be made by the tournament
committee. Your $70 entry fee covers green fees, a box lunch at noon, and
BBQ at the end, plus makes a charitable donation to the foundation to use
in awarding scholarships for local health care students.
Join us for a fun afternoon of golf for a good cause by calling 541-667-3405.
Entry deadline is June 7th.
Great prize holes and Hole-in-one on #1 & #9 wins a new car sponsored by Tom Denchel Ford
and Hermiston Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram!
Send in, or drop by, a
full color high resolution
photo, your child’s name
and a message to
your child today!
Little Darlings
211 SE Byers, Pendleton, OR 97801
333 E. Main, Hermiston, OR 97838
or email
classifi eds@eastoregonian.com
Your Name:
Phone Number:
Child’s Name:
Message:
www.eastoregonian.com
www.hermistonherald.com