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OFF PAGE ONE
East Oregonian
Saturday, February 23, 2019
Capitol: ‘Playing this
out with a press release
or two won’t advance
our common goal’
Continued from Page A1
Staff photo by E.J. Harris
New insulation lines the ceiling in the paint shop at the Eastern Oregon Correctional Institution in Pendleton.
EOCI: Moves went beyond power saving
Continued from Page A1
in 1913 as the Eastern Ore-
gon State Hospital for the
care of long-term mental
patients. Among the state’s
14 corrections facilities,
only the penitentiary in
Salem has buildings older
than EOCI.
Insulating attics was an
obvious choice, he said,
and other big improvements
have cut down the cost of
utilities at the prison. Since
2011 the prison upgraded its
three boilers, installed new
chillers and this past Octo-
ber finished replacing 106
high-pressure sodium lights
around the perimeter with
LEDs.
“We just started taking
bits at a time on what we
could do to save taxpayer
dollars,“ Cleveland said.
The LEDs, for exam-
ple, provide two-thirds
more light at two-thirds less
wattage and come with a
10-year warranty. Switch-
ing to LEDs also decreased
maintenance. Crews had
seven or eight work orders a
week to fix old ballasts and
sodium lamps.
“Those have dropped
down to one or two a
“MOST OF THE STAFF AND
THE INMATES ARE WORKING
TOGETHER TO IMPROVE EOCI.”
Mike Cleveland, EOCI’s physical plant manager
month,” Cleveland said.
The LED project cost
$82,000. Cleveland said
the nonprofit Energy Trust
of Oregon paid the prison
$32,000 in incentives to
make the switch and the
savings in four years will
cover the rest of the cost.
“It may be quicker than
that, but that’s conserva-
tive,” he said.
Energy Trust has become
the prison’s go-to partner
for big or small projects,
reporting it has given EOCI
more than $383,000 in cash
incentives since 2006. The
$57,000 check it cut for the
prison a couple of years
ago helped pay for the new
chillers. Two summers net-
ted the remaining $40,000
inn savings.
“It literally saved $5,000
a month on our electric
bill,” Cleveland said.
The trust also worked
with the prison’s person-
nel to implement “Strate-
gic Energy Management.”
Cleveland said that’s basi-
cally changing behavior and
attitudes about energy use,
and the inmates even play
a role.
“Most of the staff and
the inmates are working
together to improve EOCI,”
he said. “The inmates live
here, so that’s their home.”
He recalled one unit
where security staff kept
lights on 24/7. Inmates
reported that, and the prison
administration addressed it.
EOCI’s age and location
have made it an easy target
for closure when state bud-
gets are tight. Cleveland
said operating the prison
more efficiently than the
rest of the facilities in the
Department of Corrections
makes it hard to close.
“We got staff to buy into
the concept,” he said.
That was evident in 2013,
when the governor man-
dated state agencies to cut
20 percent from building
and facility costs by 2023.
“We had already hit that
mark,” Cleveland said.
The prison’s utility bud-
get back in 2009-10 was
about $5 million for the
biennium. Now, Cleve-
land said, it’s closer to $3
million.
The moves to be more
energy and ecologically
conscious went beyond
power savings. Miles said
the prison converted swaths
of grass to gardens, which
require less water, and the
landscaping crew changed
two large sections of lawn
into dry landscaping to
further cut back on water
use while still making the
prison look good.
Those $100,000 gas
bills are another thing of
the past. Cleveland said the
bill for December 2018 was
$33,175, and that was more
then $3,000 lower than
December 2017.
The savings speak for
themselves, he said, and
allow the state to reinvest
in other projects, such as
the new fitness and training
center for employees, which
should be fully operational
this summer.
Outbursts: Teachers shared experiences at forums across the state
Continued from Page A1
Pendleton School Dis-
trict officials said the only
data they could provide
were the number of worker’s
comp claims. In 2018, three
of 13 claims were caused by
student behavior, and the
previous year, two of seven
were caused by students.
Throughout 2018, teach-
ers around the state were
able to share their expe-
riences at a series of 14
forums around the state,
including in Hermiston.
OEA representatives asked
teachers to discuss barriers
they face to a safe school
environment, and what
changes could be made to
improve that environment.
“It kind of helped us
realize the problem,” said
Chris Demianew, a teacher
at Sunridge Middle School
in Pendleton. “I think as
teachers, we were taking it
really personally. But once
we started the listening ses-
sions, there were stories
upon stories of teachers that
quit — brand new teachers
that didn’t make it the full
year because they couldn’t
handle the behavior.”
Those forums led to
OEA’s report, “A Crisis of
Disrupted Learning.” Com-
piling the responses of the
more than 700 people who
participated, the report
identified a “disrupted
learning environment” as a
class where student behav-
ior significantly interferes
with instruction and class-
room stability and safety.
Educators described behav-
iors like verbal abuse from
students, spitting or kick-
ing, destroying property,
and using scissors or pen-
cils as weapons. The report
identified contributing prob-
lems, including increased
Salem Reporter/Rachel Alexander
John Larson, OEA president and a Hermiston teacher, speaks
during a school funding rally Monday in Salem. Proponents
for additional funding say larger class sizes and fewer aides
increase the number of outbursts from students.
class sizes, not enough
adults per student, insuffi-
cient resources to support
students with special needs,
a decrease in physical activ-
ity at school, and a lack of
training for teachers.
A safety risk for staff and
other students, the report
said these behaviors also cut
into instructional time for
students.
The behaviors also nega-
tively impact teachers.
Trauma in the
classroom
Julie Smith, Pendle-
ton’s director of special pro-
grams, said they have to
make sure they take care of
their staff.
“Teachers love their stu-
dents,” she said. “When
(they) see children strug-
gling, it takes an emotional
toll on them.”
Smith said more extreme
behavioral problems often
stem from students who are
dealing with major stress-
ors outside of school, like
domestic violence, financial
strain on their families, or
food or housing instability.
“When you live in a
toxic stress environment,
you’re always surviving,”
she said. “You’re not able to
relate to others — you per-
ceive everything as a threat
to your safety.”
That can lead to students
getting violent, or running
away.
“If there’s trauma —
one, two, multiple events,
long-term trauma — a child
could be sitting in class and
have an internal flashback,
like a PTSD response, and
could just lose it,” Smith
said. “It seems out of the
blue because it’s an internal
response.”
Understanding
that
trauma, as well as how to
deal with the secondary
effects on teachers them-
selves, is a crucial part of
training, Smith said.
Smith said those behav-
iors aren’t new, and teach-
ers have been dealing with
them for years. But she said
one reason for the spike in
schools is the inclusion of
those students in general
education, where they may
have been separated before.
Though there are many
factors contributing to the
problems, Scanlan said it’s
hard for teachers to deal
with them with limited
resources.
“Kind of a Band-Aid,
something immediate, is
how do you keep creating
structure at school?” Scan-
lan said. He said there need
to be more adults per stu-
dent in schools, including
counselors. Though they’ve
added one back, a few years
ago, Sunridge had one coun-
selor for 750 students.
Though teachers feel the
strain of being asked to do
more with fewer resources,
Smith said the district is
trying to allocate funds to
solve the problem.
The creation of safe
spaces in the classroom, she
said, has allowed children to
have a place to calm down.
There are also rooms where
students can take structured
breaks, which Smith said
has drastically reduced the
number of room clears.
She said they also try to
identify problem behaviors
early on and take preventa-
tive measures.
Scanlan said to truly
address
the
problem,
schools need more state and
federal funding. More than
4,000 teachers, including
Scanlan, marched in Salem
on Monday, calling for law-
makers to allocate more
funding for public schools.
The root of the prob-
lem lies in providing wrap-
around services for fami-
lies, Scanlan said.
“Ultimately, it’s a prob-
lem that goes beyond the
doors of the school,” he
said. “We need to be think-
ing about how we can sup-
port families and get kids in
a good emotional place to
go to school.”
Legislators came into
the session already under a
cloud over behavior, relat-
ing to complaints and inves-
tigations of harassment of
legislative employees and
others. Legislative lead-
ers were sued twice in the
past week for overlooking
harassment allegations by
employees.
Kotek removed state Rep.
Mitch Greenlick, D-Port-
land, as chair of the House
Health Committee for call-
ing a lobbyist “stupid” during
a recent meeting. Greenlick
has chaired the committee
since 2007 and will remain
as a member.
The committee this ses-
sion is handling major legis-
lation, such as the governor’s
proposal to raise tobacco
taxes and a handful of bills
concerning vaccines amid a
measles outbreak.
A public health researcher,
Greenlick has been a stal-
wart of Oregon health care
policy, leading legislative
efforts to expand govern-
ment health care to more
low-income Oregonians.
Greenlick also lost his
position as chair of the
House Conduct Committee,
which convenes to review
complaints of misconduct by
lawmakers.
Kotek also removed Rep.
Bill Post, R-Keizer, from his
seat on the House Judiciary
Committee due to provoca-
tive tweets. The committee
handles legislation govern-
ing the justice system.
Greenlick riled Republi-
cans twice in recent weeks.
The first came Feb. 5 when
he cut off Rep. Denyc Boles,
R-Salem, in a committee
meeting in attempt to move
on to the next bill. Boles
complained on the House
floor that she was “shushed.”
On Tuesday, Greenlick
publicly criticized a pharma-
ceutical representative.
“I’ve been listening to
your guys’ comments for
16 years,” Greenlick said.
“Generally, you’re not stu-
pid. In this case, you appear
to be stupid.”
Greenlick then accused
Rep. Christine Drazan,
R-Canby, of “showboating”
when she expressed concerns
about those remarks during
the committee hearing.
That prompted Republi-
cans to boycott a Wednesday
evening meeting of a leg-
islative committee focused
on improving the Capitol
work culture. House Repub-
lican leader Carl Wilson,
R-Grants Pass, asked Kotek
to strip Greenlick of his chair
position on the health care
committee.
Greenlick declined com-
ment Thursday.
Kotek said in a House
speech Thursday morning
that her moves weren’t polit-
ically motivated.
“Mitch Greenlick is a
friend and mentor and some-
one whose service to Oregon
has been profound,” Kotek
said. “And yet, we must all
be held to a high standard.”
Kotek said Greenlick
acted inappropriately.
But she also dressed
down Republicans, saying
their outcry over Greenlick
was sensational.
“We will fail in this
endeavor if we don’t embrace
constructive dialogue first
before we proceed to public
incriminations,” she said.
Kotek warned Republi-
cans of overplaying griev-
ances in public rather than
constructively working to fix
workplace issues.
“Playing this out with a
press release or two won’t
advance our common goal,”
Kotek said.
In a letter to all represen-
tatives, Kotek noted Post’s
history of online exploits.
He’s known for active and
off-the-cuff Twitter usage.
This week, he called
state Sen. Shemia Fagan,
D-Clackamas, “cray cray”
— slang for crazy — in ref-
erence to her proposal to
lower the voting age to 16.
Post said he later deleted the
tweet.
Post caused a stir when
he retweeted a tweet from
pro-gun control group called
Moms Demand Action pro-
moting their upcoming rally
at the Capitol. Post tagged
the Twitter account of the
Oregon Firearms Federation
and said “be ready, be there!”
The tweet was viewed as
insensitive because of vio-
lent clashes between pro-
testers and counter-protest-
ers in Oregon over the past
year, and because he sent it
days after the one-year anni-
versary of the shooting at
Marjory Stoneman Doug-
las High School in Parkland,
Florida.
“Given the pattern of his
behavior, I believe it is neces-
sary to remove him from his
position on the House Com-
mittee on Judiciary, effective
immediately,” Kotek said.
It’s not the first time Post
has drawn ire for his posts on
social media.
Last year, in the midst
of a ballot measure cam-
paign to restrict gun owner-
ship led by three clergymen,
Post publicly posted their
home addresses and phone
numbers.
Post apologized for the
offense that his tweets
caused Thursday, but also
defended himself. Post said
body language and tone isn’t
exhibited on social media,
causing statements to be
misconstrued. He said he
was inviting balanced debate
on gun control, not violence
or intimidation.
Post also warned about
censorship of lawmakers.
“Free speech is free
speech,” Post said.
“Words from the presid-
ing officers ring hollow,”
Greg Stiles, a spokesman
for House Republicans said
in a statement. “Instead, an
inflammatory and disre-
spectful atmosphere persists
the Capitol.”
Wilson on Thursday said
Republican legislators would
return to duty on the culture
committee.
But he expressed concern
about proposed legislation
that addresses lawmakers’
conduct on social media.
“(The bill) could put any
in danger, depending on how
someone feels about what
you’ve done, and we’ve got
to be extremely careful about
that. I mean we have to be
way careful about that,” Wil-
son told the House. “Social
media is implicated, and also
other media as well. If you
appear on a radio talk show
and say something that could
offend someone, that hap-
pens all the time.”
Wilson declined an inter-
view but released a state-
ment vowing to work toward
improving
the
Capitol
culture.
That may take some work.
A month into the session,
every legislator’s comments
are facing more intense scru-
tiny. That attention shows no
signs of letting up.
Public lawsuits and inves-
tigations allege the Legis-
lature is inhospitable for
women to work. The rise of
the #MeToo movement and
resurgence of mainstream
feminism in the Trump
era have put a microscope
on lawmakers’ day-to-day
interactions.
This week’s events show
the friction among individ-
ual members about what
changes need to be made.
Last year, Sen. Jeff Kruse,
R-Roseburg, was ousted over
his unwanted touching of
women at the Capitol, and
allegations of sexual harass-
ment that surfaced publicly
with the labor commission-
er’s report led to the recent
resignation of Senate Presi-
dent Peter Courtney’s com-
munications director.
Legislators and their
employees recently took
sexual harassment training,
but several legislators com-
plained that a trainer brought
in earlier this month made
inappropriate remarks, mak-
ing light of harassment.