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East Oregonian
Saturday, February 23, 2019
CHRISTOPHER RUSH
Publisher
KATHRYN B. BROWN
Owner
DANIEL WATTENBURGER
Managing Editor
WYATT HAUPT JR.
News Editor
Founded October 16, 1875
OUR VIEW
Where education dollars count the most
B
elieve it or not, local pub-
lic schools are already two-
thirds of the way through the
2018-19 academic year. Before spring
fever hits and thoughts turn to prom
and graduation, now is a good time
to evaluate where our local districts
stand versus the rest of Oregon.
Readers will recall that education
— and specifically its funding —
was a major campaign theme during
the state election cycle in Novem-
ber. Both Gov. Kate Brown and her
Republican opponent touted their
own plans to get schools the fund-
ing they need to operate more effec-
tively. Since the so-called “Great
Recession” of 2008, districts in Ore-
gon have struggled to balance PERS
(Public Employee Retirement Sys-
tem) liability with the need for class-
room teachers and keeping up with
state and federal mandates.
One key reporting metric that has
been pointed to is the state’s gradua-
tion rate. Depending on how it is cal-
culated — and there are almost as
many calculation formulas as there
are reporting states — it has been
noted in some media that Oregon has
the second worst graduation rate in
the nation.
We are dubious of this. Ameri-
can satirist Mark Twain and former
British Prime Minister Benjamin
Disraeli are both credited with the
salient quote, “There are three kinds
of lies: lies, damned lies, and statis-
tics.” We suspect the state gradua-
tion rate that has been reported for
Salem Reporter/Rachel Alexander
Educators and supporters march Feb. 18 in Salem in favor of more K-12 school funding.
maximum political impact does not
paint a true picture of where Oregon
stands in comparison with the other
49 states.
But even using the current flawed
formula, schools here in Eastern Ore-
gon are accomplishing their primary
function — graduating a large per-
centage of their students within four
years — at a high rate.
A review of reporting data from
the Oregon Department of Educa-
tion, and assembled by the Inter-
Mountain ESD Consortium, which
serves 18 school districts in northeast
Oregon, shows area graduation rates
well in excess of the state average. In
fact, 16 out of 18 area districts posted
graduation rates above the state aver-
age in 2017-18. Ukiah, Union, and
Imbler districts posted 100 percent
graduation rates last year. Pendleton
was at 81 percent and nearly every
other district posted rates between 80
and 95 percent. The state average last
year was 79 percent.
It should be noted that Hermiston,
which opted out of participating in
the InterMountain ESD last year, has
seen graduation rates between 64 and
74 percent over the past five years.
Currently, Oregon still counts
students who move from one dis-
trict to another against their original
school district’s graduation number,
so schools must keep tabs on for-
mer pupils’ graduation progress even
after they leave the district. Oregon
also does not count students who
attain their GED within just a year
or two of their originally scheduled
graduation date.
But the most glaring discrepancy
when comparing to other states is
that Oregon requires 24 credits for
graduation when many other states
only require as few as 18. There is
not a true apples-to-apples compar-
ison to be had. It would only take a
few statistical tweaks here and there
to move Oregon from the bottom of
national graduation rates to at or near
the very top.
The bottom line is that we here in
Eastern Oregon have very good rea-
son to be proud of the job our local
school districts are doing, often under
less than ideal circumstances with
fewer staff and ultra-tight budgets.
Can they improve? Always. So let’s
give them the funding they need to
make it happen.
And let’s also make sure that fund-
ing doesn’t get sliced and diced into
well-meaning but ineffectual man-
dates in Salem. We must trust our
educators and administrators to put
tax dollars to good use in local class-
rooms. Take a survey of any commu-
nity and you’ll find that by and large,
the people who are paying the taxes
want to see those dollars under local
control, directed by the people who
best understand the needs.
It’s another reason why having an
active local school board is a crucial
part of the education system.
When you see a schoolteacher,
administrator or school board mem-
ber from your local district, tell them
“thanks!” for the job they are doing.
YOUR VIEWS
Cap and trade will cost us all
HB 2020, Oregon’s proposed carbon bill, known as
“Cap and Trade,” raises significant concerns regarding the
direct and indirect impact of the bill on members of Ore-
gon’s agricultural industries. The bill would impose per-
mits and taxes that would result in cutting greenhouse gas
emission levels 45 percent below the 1990 levels by the
year 2035 and 90 percent below 1990 levels by the year
2050.
The bill proposes an allowance budget and each year
the available allowance would decline. HB 2020 would cap
certain carbon emissions and require the purchase of “off-
sets.” This likely will increase the direct cost of fuel and
natural gas for family farms and ranches, transportation
costs in the supply chain, and costs for food processing.
This would mean not only could Oregon’s gas prices
become some of the highest in the nation, but the
increased financial burden on agricultural operations will
significantly trickle down to every Oregonian’s grocery
store bill.
Increasing input costs will place another hurdle on Ore-
gon’s young ranchers who are trying to start their own
business and who are trying keep Oregon lands working.
Working the land is crucial for management and mainte-
nance to combat erosion, invasive species, soil and water
quality, and fire control. Cattle ranchers sequentially con-
Unsigned editorials are the opinion of
the East Oregonian editorial board. Other
columns, letters and cartoons on this page
express the opinions of the authors and not
necessarily that of the East Oregonian.
trol carbon emissions by maintaining healthy soil and con-
trolling the fuel levels of wildfires through grazing habits.
“One large Oregon wildfire produces more carbon in
the air than Portland can produce in one year,” said Ore-
gon Cattlemen’s Association’s Executive Director Jerome
Rosa, “meaningful change for carbon emissions should
start with forest management and wildfire control.”
The increased costs as a result of this bill would shift
production to other states and countries with less control
over environmental regulations, carbon-neutral power sup-
ply, and fewer human rights and labor laws.
“Oregon’s rural communities are committed to envi-
ronmental stewardship and we don’t want to see our state’s
commodities outsourced to unregulated areas, we don’t
want to see the cost of ranching and farming in this state
outweigh the benefit,” said Rosa.
The Oregon Cattlemen’s Association encourages
anyone who will face increased operation costs by not
exempting commercial or agricultural fuels from this bill
to voice your opposition. The Joint Committee on Carbon
Reduction is conducting four offsite hearings near rural
areas to hear from communities facing this unfair burden.
You are encouraged to attend and voice your opposition at
one of the following hearings or to write a letter to your
local representative.
Robyn H. Smith
Oregon Cattlemen’s Association
Better questions than
morality of a wall
It was disheartening to read the news release in
Tuesday night’s East Oregonian from the Round
Up Republican Women’s organization. In it, col-
lege-bound students from the region were invited to
submit applications for a $500 scholarship the group
plans to award this spring. One of the application’s
requirements was an essay written in response to
the question, “Is a border wall immoral?”
Is this — a not very open-ended, simplistic, and
seemingly leading prompt — representative of the
thinking among the leadership in that organization?
Surely, anyone who is busy grappling with ways to
secure funds for college tuition could spend his or
her time better contemplating a more provocative
and worthwhile question.
With a little more thought, the Round Up Repub-
lican Women could have at least come up with a
question like “What is the cost and promise of con-
structing a barrier between the United States and its
neighbor, Mexico?” It would be great if these repre-
sentatives of the Republican Party were contributors
to real dialogue instead of to divisiveness.
Shari Dallas
Pendleton
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. 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 9780, or email
editor@eastoregonian.com.