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About Polk County itemizer observer. (Dallas, Or) 1992-current | View Entire Issue (July 1, 2015)
Polk County Itemizer-Observer • July 1, 2015 15A Polk County Education Central Health Center Welcomes Public Dallas board to examine sports fees By Jolene Guzman The Itemizer-Observer EMILY MENTZER/Itemizer-Observer Hundreds of people attended the ribbon cutting and open house of the new Central Health and Wellness Center on Thursday afternoon. The center, located at 1601 Monmouth St., Independence, will be open soon to take ap- pointments, and will serve the entire community, not just students. Central board declares vacancy By Emily Mentzer The Itemizer-Observer INDEPENDENCE — After write-in campaigns for two zones in Central School District, the board of direc- tors has a vacancy. Peggy Clyne, of Inde- pendence, got the most votes for Zone 2 and will re- place Jennifer Mason on the board. The second write-in win- ner, for Zone 7 to replace Mary Shellenbarger, did not accept the position by the deadline, County Clerk Val Unger said. Representatives from the school district were not available for comment by press time. Do I live in Zone 7? Zone 7 covers that portion of Central School District consisting of that portion of Marion County, Benton County and that portion of the district in Polk County outside the cities of Monmouth and Independence, and south of the Monmouth-Falls City State Highway. The term for this position is from Aug. 10, 2015, through June 30, 2017. According to the school board policies, a vacancy has been declared. The can- didate must be legally regis- tered to vote and a resident within the district for one year immediately preceding the appointment. Candidates should reside in Zone 7; however, if the board does not receive qualified candidates from within the zone, an out-of- zone appointment may be made. Anyone interested in the position should submit a letter of interest to the School Board, Central School District 13J, 750 S. Fifth St., Independence, OR 97351. The deadline is 4:30 p.m. on July 21. The school board is ex- pected to make the ap- pointment at its Aug. 10 meeting. Interested candidates should plan to attend. If a candidate cannot at- tend this meeting, their let- ter of interest will still be considered. The successful candidate will be sworn in and seated at this meeting, if in atten- dance. The board meets for its regular sessions on the first Monday of the month at 6:30 p.m., unless the first Monday falls on a holiday. DALLAS — The Dallas School Board may consider a proposal in July to raise athletic fees. The board discussed pos- sibly raising the fees — now at $125 for all sports except cheerleading, which is at $75 per season (fall and win- ter) — at its meeting on June 22. Current fees for sports have been in place since 2004, said Dallas Athletic Di- rector Tim Larson. “My thought is, if we are not increasing year after year, we kind of lag behind, especially if we have some needs. We have a lot of needs in the athletic arena,” said then-board chairman Mike Blanchard at the June 22 meeting. He suggested the board con- sider a plan to raise fees, possi- bly starting next school year. Larson said among schools in the region, South Albany, Corvallis, and Crescent Valley charge $150 per sport, while others charge $100. Larson said last week he hadn’t finished putting to- gether a proposal, but said his recommendation wouldn’t increase fees beyond $150. A $25 increase would raise approximately $15,000, as- suming 600 athletes partici- pate throughout the year. “It isn’t going to bring in a whole lot of money,” he said. “But it’s going to help.” Discussion on raising the fees was in conjunction with a proposal to add staff using money the district no longer needs to hold in reserve due to a better-than-expected May state revenue forecast. The board chose the op- tion that included adding 14 assistant coaches at a cost of approximately $72,000. Assistants in many sports have been working for free. Larson said a possible fee increase could be used to offset part of the cost of pay- ing assistants. “I’m grateful to the school board for passing that budg- et,” Larson said. “It’s huge for the kids and for our coach- es.” The proposal to raise fees will be considered by the board at the board’s July 13 (which could be canceled) or July 20 meeting. In other business, the board: • Elected Lu Ann Meyer as board chairwoman and Jon Woods as vice chairman for the 2015-16 year. LUKAS EGGEN/Itemizer-Observer file Dallas’ baseball team charged a fee of $125 for the 2015 season. That fee may be increased.