WEEKEND EDITION
DRUG BUST
CAPTURES
MAJOR
DEALER
JOHN DAY
RIVER
FLOAT
STATE TITLE ELUDES
PILOT ROCK SPORTS/1B
LIFESTYLES/1C
REGION/3A
JUNE 3-4, 2017
141st Year, No. 165
$1.50
WINNER OF THE 2016 ONPA GENERAL EXCELLENCE AWARD
GRADUATION DAY 2017
TALE OF TWO CLASSES
Pendleton
grapples
with falling
enrollment
By ANTONIO SIERRA
East Oregonian
Contributed photo
The Pendleton High School class of 2017 has 210 graduates, down 3.7 percent from the year before. Hermiston High School on
the other hand is up 37.5 percent from last year and has a graduating class of 332.
Pendleton and Hermiston’s
graduation class size
Hermiston will graduate
record class next week
By JAYATI RAMAKRISHNAN
East Oregonian
Hermiston’s population has
spiked over the last decade, and
with it, so have Hermiston School
District’s graduating classes.
This year’s graduating class
is 332, the largest in Hermiston’s
history, and an increase of 91
students from last year. They will
walk at 10 a.m. on June 10.
Tricia Mooney, Hermiston
School District assistant superinten-
dent of human resources, said there
were a few reasons for the sudden
increase.
“First, our senior class this year
is about 40 students larger than
last year,” Mooney said via email.
“Second, and more exciting, is that
our staff have been working really
hard with our students this year and
we are anticipating an increase in
our graduation rate.”
While an increase of that
magnitude over just one year is
unusual, the overall growth of the
district’s student population has
been consistent. According to data
on the district website, the district
has added an average of about 100
students each year since 2005, with
5,609 currently enrolled. The trend
is expected to continue through the
decade. Hermiston was the second-
fastest growing district in the state
as of 2015-2016, according to the
Oregon Department of Education.
“We’re going to have to continue
to look at how to accommodate
that,” Mooney said. “Right now the
three smallest classes in the district
are at the high school. Our 12th
grade class was 377 students at the
last enrollment report. Next year’s
freshman class is 410. If you project
down the road, the junior class will
be at 382. And the current seventh
grade class is at 447.”
The 2010 census data showed
that between 2000 and 2010, Herm-
See HERMISTON/10A
After the 2007-08 school year, Hermiston’s graduation class
sizes have grown substantially while Pendleton’s have shrunk.
400 students
Hermiston School Dist.
Pendleton School Dist.
332*: Up 37.5%
from 2015-16
Sources: Oregon Dept. of Education;
Pendleton and Hermiston school districts
300
241
220
200
215
218
*Preliminary graduation rate
Antonio Sierra and Alan
a/
Kenaga/EO
Media Group
210*: Down 3.7% from 2015-16
100
2007-08
2010-11
2013-14
2016-17
Caps & gowns
Pendleton’s graduation is Saturday, 10 a.m. at the
Round-Up Stadium and Hermiston’s is June 10. For a
profi le on Pendleton grad Jennifer Kannier see PAGE 9A.
Budget cuts hit the Pendleton School
District hard.
The $1.4 million cut to the 2017-2018
budget’s general fund required the district
to reduce its workforce by 19.5 positions
through layoffs and unfi lled vacancies.
When Pendleton High School cut its only
business teacher, that meant that the busi-
ness program went with it.
School offi cials have pointed to the
Legislature’s proposed education budget as
being insuffi cient to support the district’s
operations, but they also started discussing
a local trend that could have wide-ranging
funding implica-
tions — Pendle-
“If you’re
ton’s
declining
getting less
enrollment.
At a recent
students, we
budget hearing,
have to live
Michelle
Jones
shared a line graph
within our
that showed Pend-
leton’s enrollment
means.”
from 2006 to
— Matt Yoshioka,
2016.
After a period interim superintendent
of
stability
between 2006 and 2008, enrollment
peaking at 3,355 students in 2007, the graph
began to resemble a roller coaster that had
reached a free fall in recent years. The 3,155
students enrolled in the district in 2016
represented a defi nitive low for Pendleton
across the 10-year sample.
Since starting with 3,173 students at the
start of the 2016-2017 school year, Pend-
leton’s enrollment has fallen every month
through May, ending with 3,075 students.
Like other states, Oregon bases its
funding allocations on enrollment, meaning
lost pupils are lost money.
If Pendleton continues to hemorrhage
students, the district would have little choice
but to continue slashing staff and services.
“If you’re getting less students, we have
to live within our means,” interim superin-
tendent Matt Yoshioka said.
Schools on the open market
Under a rapidly changing educational
landscape, parents are no longer bound by
geography in deciding where they send
their kids to school.
With increasing competition for Pend-
leton’s students, Yoshioka said the district
See PENDLETON/9A
First man pleads guilty
to Nelson homicide
By PHIL WRIGHT
East Oregonian
Edward Duarte Ayala pleaded
guilty Friday to the January
2016 killing of Thadd Nelson of
Meacham.
Ayala, 47, will serve 16 years for
the crime.
Back in April, he cut a deal in
April with federal prosecutors and
pleaded guilty to gun crimes in
Nelson’s shooting death, which took
place on the Umatilla Indian Reser-
vation. Ayala made a separate deal
with the Umatilla County District
Attorney’s Offi ce, and Friday in
circuit court in Hermiston admitted
to his role in Nelson’s death.
Ayala pleaded guilty to
conspiracy to commit burglary
and to manslaughter in exchange
for a sentence of 16 years and two
months. That time will run concur-
rent with his federal time of 20 years,
according to court documents.
Circuit Judge Eva Temple
presided and said she found the
agreement “an appropriate resolu-
tion to the case.”
She asked Ayala if he committed
manslaughter.
“Yes, I did,” he answered,
standing in yellow jail clothes,
shackles and cuffs.
District Attorney Dan Primus
spoke on behalf of Nelson’s family.
He said Nelson’s parents, Susan
See AYALA/10A
Staff photo by Kathy Aney
Edward Duarte Ayala enters the courtroom Friday to receive his sen-
tence for manslaughter and conspiracy to commit burglary in connec-
tion with the homicide of Thadd Nelson, of Meacham. Ayala received a
16 year sentence for the crimes.