SIUSLAW NEWS SCHOOL NEWSLETTER ❚ MAY 2016
SCHOOL
ZONE
A Monthly Newsletter for the Siuslaw and Mapleton Schools and Florence Community PTA
PRIMARY ELECTION 2016
W he n t e am s
ju st C L I C K
V OTERS PASS
M APLETON BOND ,
DEFEAT S IUSLAW ’ S
Siuslaw
Middle and High
School Lego Robotics
team participates
at North Bend
competition
Levy for OSU Extension Service
and 4-H programs also supported
M
COURTESY PHOTOS
Siuslaw students who participated in the 2016 Oregon Regional MATE ROV competitors were Alex Bloomfield, Emily
Bloomfield, Chandler Call, Darin Clarke, Michael Guttierez, Dillon Hutchinson, Anthony Jojola, JessyLynn Keppol,
Topher Keppol, Alex Osbon, Jon Tregoning, Nic Wilkinson and Paige Williams.
S
iuslaw Middle and
High School Lego
Robotics team ends
the 2015-16 school year
with a healthy dose of com-
petition and teamwork.
Siuslaw sent a team to the Marine
Advanced Technology Education
Remote Operated Vehicle (MATE
ROV) competition at the North Bend
High School Aquatic Center.
It was a success and students had a
great time competing.
The purpose of this competition is
to simulate the real world actions of
professional marine engineers,
designers and technicians. The STEM
(science, technology, engineering and
math) skills students learn will be
applicable in future jobs in the
marine, robotics and mechanical
fields.
As a part of this program, students
in college will find internships in the
STEM industries such as NASA,
NOAA and many others.
The MATE ROV program is a great
way to introduce students into this
field so that they may build the skills
needed in 21st century economy.
MATE ROV had students from ele-
mentary, middle and high schools col-
laborating and building these skills
that will serve them well when they
go to college, or if they decide to get
a job after high school in a related
field.
Advisers to the after-school
Twilight program were Greg
Jorgenson, Susan Hawke and Jon
Hornung.
We are proud of our students for
working multiple months after school
to improve themselves and showing
graciousness in competition. —
Submitted by Susan Hawke
Stream Team completes quarter with exploration
S
iuslaw Stream Team and
teachers Stephanie Rogers
and Susan Hawke send a
hearty thanks to the Quarter 4
Stream Team parent volunteers
and the volunteers with the Dunes
Use area Invasive Species clean
up day on April 20 for Earth Day,
a visit to Cape Perpetua on May
4 and the field trip to Heceta Head
Lighthouse on May 18.
COURTESY PHOTOS
A special thank you to Sea Lion
Caves and Boomer for allowing
Stream Team and vol-
Siuslaw Middle School to take one
unteers visited coastal
last field trip on May 18 for the
and forest regions
sixth- and seventh-grade Stream
during Quarter 4.
Team students to visit the light-
house and the Sea Lion Caves.
Grey whales at the Light
“A huge thank you to Boomer House.”
Wright of Sea Lion Caves
The following are the
who stepped forward
parent volun-
and gifted our final
teers that have
field trip to the caves
made the field
and Heceta Head
trips possible:
Lighthouse. It helped
Dan Rankin
complete our quarter
Lori Olson
of awesome field
Shannon Slaughter
trips to the Siuslaw
Nichole Lewis
National Forest and
Brian Jefferis
surrounding
areas
Michelle Rose
of Florence,” said
Stephanie Colton
Hawke.
“Another
Merissa Ceridono
plus goes to the
Charlotte Rau
Siuslaw PTA for providing grant
Amy Galvan-Mendez
Rogers said.
funds for the purchase of 14 binoc-
“Thank you for your continued
—Submitted
by
Stephanie
ulars which were used to view support of Siuslaw Schools,” Rogers and Susan Hawke
CYAN MAGENTA YELLoW BLACK
apleton School District voters approved
a $4 million bond measure for school
improvements, while Siuslaw School
District voters rejected a proposed $36.9 million
new high school in the May 17 Primary
Election.
Lane County voters also approved measure
20-239 to support 4-H and Oregon State
University
B Y J ACK D AVIS
Extension Service
Siuslaw News
programs. The five-
year levy will increase property taxes by 1.5
cents per $1,000 of assessed property value.
Siuslaw was the only Lane County school dis-
trict bond measure to fail, with 3,169 (53 per-
cent) voting against it and 2,801 (47 percent) in
favor. Bonds for Mapleton, Junction City and
South Lane school districts all passed.
Of the four Lane County school district bond
measures, Mapleton School District’s $4 million
bond had the highest voter approval with nearly
63 percent in favor. The last bond measure
passed by the school district expired in 1961.
Mapleton voters approved a much smaller
bond measure, but it has a significantly higher
cost per $1,000 property value rate than the
Siuslaw district
bond. Mapleton
“We appreciate the voters’
residents will
overwhelming support of the
see an annual
schools.”
increase of
—J ODI O’M ARA
M APLETON S UPERINTENDENT
$1.59 per
$1,000 of
assessed property value, while Florence voters
rejected Siuslaw’s projected 29-cent annual
increase per $1,000 of assessed property value.
Mapleton Superintendent Jodi O’Mara said,
“It was great to see the community supporting
the schools by such a large margin.”
According to O’Mara, the district will be able
to start some projects this summer, but the
majority of the work will be completed over the
next three years.
“We appreciate the voters’ overwhelming sup-
port of the schools,” she said.
In addition to the $4 million from the bond
measure, Mapleton received an additional $4
million grant from the state of Oregon that was
triggered by the passage of the bond. Mapleton
will also apply for two state seismic improve-
ment grants of up to $1.5 million each for the
high school and elementary school buildings in
July.
“They are competitive grants, so those funds
are not guaranteed,” O’Mara said. “They can
only be used to improve the seismic stability of
the buildings and to create ‘shelter in place’
areas to be used in the aftermath of an earth-
quake.”
The Siuslaw district will lose an additional $4
million state grant award that was contingent
upon approval of the bond.
Siuslaw Superintendent Ethel Angal said, “I
feel sad that what we did in this shortened
process was just not enough for our community.
We had good support; we just didn’t have quite
enough.”
According to Lane County records, there were
368 more “no” votes out of a total of 5,970 total
votes cast.
“The same problems still exist,” Angal said.
“We are going to have to deal with them in some
way. There is not enough general fund money to
provide instruction and take on huge capital
projects. At some point we are going to have to
bond.”
Statewide, 13 of 22 school district bond meas-
ures on the ballot passed.