ANDREW CUTLER
Publisher/Editor
KATHRYN B. BROWN
Owner
WYATT HAUPT JR.
News Editor
JADE McDOWELL
Hermiston Editor
TUESDAY, MArCH 30, 2021
A4
Founded October 16, 1875
OUR VIEW
Funding
public safety
requires
sacrifice
T
ax hikes are never popular in a
nation founded on the principal of
limited government, but occasion-
ally a sacrifice from taxpayers is necessary.
No better example of this theory are two
bond measures in the county on the upcom-
ing elections docket. One measure — spon-
sored by the Umatilla County Fire District
No. 1 — will ask voters to fund a 20-year
bond package to raise $13.1 million. The
measure, if passed, would add 23 cents per
1,000 of assessed value to property taxes in
the fire district.
A second bond measure is backed by
the city of Milton-Freewater. The city
believes it needs $7.7 million to build a
7,544-square-foot police station. The
measure would boost taxes 87 cents per
$1,000 of assessed value.
Both measures are asking a whole lot of
voters, but there is one common theme with
both — they will support public safety.
That fact means both are necessary and
voters should support them.
There are a very few issues that deserve
nearly outright tax support from voters.
One, of course, is national defense. We
need a strong military to keep our nation
— our democracy — safe. Yet another is
public safety. Money spent to help a fire
department, or a police agency, pays off
for decades. Every community needs a
strong and well-equipped fire department
and police agency. Money spent on public
safety is an investment in the overall health
of a community. It isn’t a blank check for an
elected official to tinker with, but essential
for our well-being.
No one likes to pay more taxes. One of
the pillars of the birth of our nation was
an outright resistance to paying taxes to
the English crown. So an anti-tax senti-
ment runs deep in our national collective
consciousness. We can all relate. Often it
seems like the government is thrusting its
hands into our wallets and purses on a regu-
lar basis, and sometimes there isn’t a whole
lot to show for it.
But funding public safety is a different
issue.
Most of us can do the math and under-
stand that a fire department or the police are
two of the most important publicly funded
institutions. Without either, our cities are
vulnerable. None of us wants that. And
most importantly, none of us can afford it.
We can’t afford to expect our emergency
service responders to react to an emergency
with outdated equipment. When lives are
potentially at stake, no price is too high.
EDITORIALS
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.
LETTERS
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:
editor@eastoregonian.com,
or via mail to Andrew Cutler,
211 S.E. Byers Ave. Pendleton, OR 97801
College remains committed to students, community
DR. CONNIE
GREEN
OTHER VIEWS
n 1962, our community took on the
courageous challenge of opening
one of the first community colleges
in Oregon. In the nearly 60 years since
Blue Mountain Community College
first opened its doors and began serving
students, much has changed.
The college has celebrated triumphs
and weathered challenges. The past year
has brought about a particularly challeng-
ing time for our faculty and staff, students,
and the communities we serve.
BMCC is working to address the issues
that most rural community colleges in
2021 face — enrollment decline, budget
challenges, poverty and COVID-limited
contact that has resulted in decreased
connections to high schools, universities,
and businesses. Despite these challenges,
and what you may have read elsewhere,
BMCC is committed to being your college
and meeting the needs of the communities
we serve in Umatilla, Morrow and Baker
counties.
Failing you is not an option.
As the interim president at BMCC,
my agreement with the Board of Educa-
tion is to address these issues openly, and
with the campus team and our commu-
nity partners working together to create
a stable two-year budget that will provide
predictable and stabile learning oppor-
tunities. This step will ensure BMCC’s
programs and services to our students
and partners are strong and vibrant. In
doing so, we will also become flexible and
nimble to ensure the connections and the
results increase as we all work together to
support communities and individuals that
thrive in Eastern Oregon.
So, yes, BMCC is experiencing signif-
icant transition and change to meet the
I
current reality. The college will begin a
search for a new president. The intent is to
not pass on current budget challenges for
a new president to handle. The college and
its Board of Education recognize that for
BMCC to continue to meet the evolving
needs of its students and communities, it,
too, must adapt. That means BMCC will
change how we are organized, how we
operate and how we partner. This can be a
scary endeavor.
It can also be an opportunity.
BMCC has an opportunity to renew its
commitment to students and the commu-
nity while reviewing its internal organiza-
tion and structure, and right-sizing. It has
an opportunity to serve students in new
ways in a post-pandemic era that will see
our economy in recovery and our local
industries adapting to the challenges of
the past year.
So how did BMCC end up in its current
financial challenge? The answer is multi-
pronged.
Like most community colleges across
the country, BMCC has experienced
enrollment decline for the past several
years. This was exacerbated by the
pandemic over the past year, which forced
us into virtual learning, and became a
major challenge for the hands-on Career
Technical Education programs. Since
community colleges rely on enrollment
for tuition revenue and state funding,
fewer students mean less revenue.
The primary sources of funding for
Oregon’s 17 community colleges come
from three revenue sources. In 2019-20,
the College received 31.03% from state
funding, 32.38% from student tuition and
fees, and 36.59% from local property tax
revenue.
Many community colleges, including
BMCC, have had to raise tuition to help
cover costs. BMCC has also taken steps
to reduce its expenses over the past year,
reducing nearly $2 million for the 2020-21
budget. These reductions were in materi-
als and services and staff development, as
well as a reduction of 24 positions. Last
year had difficult decisions. The intent
of the Board is for the college to make
any additional reductions for the 2021-22
budget so that the expenditures and reve-
nues balance and the College is “right-
sized” for the future.
How does BMCC do this? Through
inclusive conversations with faculty, staff,
students and the community. BMCC has
already begun intensive work internally,
reviewing department budgets, organi-
zational structures, and potential revenue
options. Nothing is off the table for discus-
sion as we review budgets and options.
Now, a discussion does not neces-
sarily mean all things change. A discus-
sion means we learn, listen, and consider
implications so that we can make
informed decisions moving forward. We
need a structural organization, plan and
budget that is sustainable and provides
students and the community with college
programs and services that are stable and
predictable, as well as flexible and nimble.
While this process will be challenging
— and even heart-breaking — for many,
BMCC’s faculty and staff are resilient.
They have weathered past storms, and
each time the college comes out stronger.
With these impending changes,
there remains one constant — BMCC is
committed to the students and communi-
ties it serves. Our administration, faculty,
staff and Board of Education are commit-
ted to strengthening BMCC so that it can
thrive and be the affordable, high-quality
educational option for Eastern Oregon.
We are committed to working with local
industries to put Eastern Oregonians
back to work and reinvigorate our local
economy. We are committed to being
“Students First.”
And, just like when we first opened
our doors in 1962, we are committed at
BMCC to you — our community.
———
Dr. Connie Green is the interim presi-
dent of Blue Mountain Community College.
ers held dear to a functioning republic.
Thomas Triplett
Bend
that would cause fellow human beings
to travel 3,000 miles with only a few
personal items.
Following my return, I subsequently
published three articles about my expe-
riences and observations and also shared
pictures of refugees on both sides of
the border. We were given full and total
access to every inch of the federal facil-
ities and the opportunity to mingle with
refugees and see the conditions they were
experiencing. That access included all
facilities holding migrant children.
As we consider immigration policy,
particularly in the midst of a pandemic,
it is an issue that should be considered
thoughtfully and openly, as well as
devoid of political manifestations.
If there is no crisis at the border and
no sudden influx of individuals coming
north, then I wonder why the secrecy and
why the ban on media access? And, if
thousands of unaccompanied minors are
being treated in a fair, safe and humane
manner, why hide it or pretend some-
thing of this magnitude isn’t happening?
George Murdock
Pendleton
YOUR VIEWS
A return to free exchange
of beliefs needed
We are traversing challenging times.
In part, this is due to a direct assault
on the concepts that underlie the First
Amendment assurance of freedom of
speech. We can continue to utilize the
Socratic method or abandon it. We can
continue to play the devil’s advocate or
abandon it. But if we choose abandon-
ment, we are worse off for that decision.
The benefit of freely, and without fear
of retaliation, expressing our view-
point is to make both the speaker and
the listener better informed. How do I
know that my opinion or fact assump-
tions are flawed, absent carefully listen-
ing to opposing views? And, perchance,
my contrarian opinion might persuade
others. Unfortunately, we are living
in a era in which conflicting views
are enforced by shaming, threat of
boycott, personal injury and worse. It
brings to mind the brown shirts of Nazi
Germany. We need to return to free
exchange of thoughts, facts and beliefs
to salvage the freedom that our Found-
Why the secrecy and ban
on media access?
In September 2019, I traveled to
El Paso, Texas, as part of a delegation
from the National Association of Coun-
ties Immigration Task Force. The trip
was arranged in the wake of concerns
about issues at the border and our hosts
included Homeland Security, the Border
Patrol, the El Paso County Board of
Commissioners, as well as Mexican state
officials.
We visited the actual border cross-
ing, accompanied the border patrol to the
banks of the Rio Grande River where we
witnessed several apprehensions, and
followed the individuals apprehended
to a federal processing center. We also
visited holding facilities in Juarez. I was
permitted to photograph everything we
saw. I was deeply moved as I learned
about conditions of violence and poverty