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About Polk County itemizer observer. (Dallas, Or) 1992-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 3, 2016)
Polk County Education 16A Polk County Itemizer-Observer • February 3, 2016 SCHOOL NOTES Free aviation workshop Feb. 20-21 INDEPENDENCE — The International Experimental Aircraft As- sociation (Salem Chapter) will ofer a free workshop on sport avi- ation and aerospace on Feb. 20 and 21. The event will take place at the Independence Air Park and is open to students ages 14 to 18. Participants will be exposed to the physics of light, weather, map reading/GPS, simulators, hands-on inspection of aircraft, aircraft construction/aerospace materials, careers in aviation and more. Visit www.polkio.com for a link to register or for more infor- mation. Career workshops open to CHS students INDEPENDENCE — The Panthers Academic Center Beyond the Bell program is sponsoring a series of career and job skills workshops. The second workshop will be Tuesday at 3:30 p.m. and will focus on writing efective resumes and cover letters. Workshops are open to all students at Central High School. For more information: Prindi Flug, plug@central.k12.or.us, Stacy Olson, solson@central.k12.or.us, or Tresa Henderson, then- derson@central.k12.or.us. Health care scholarship available POLK COUNTY — Applications are being accepted for the West Valley Hospital Foundation scholarship for students in medically related ields of study. All applications must be received by March 25. Applicants must have a permanent residence in Polk County or be a current employee or family member of a current employ- ee at West Valley Hospital and must have applied to a college in their ield of study before applying for the scholarship. Visit www.salemhealth.org/scholarships for forms. Call 503-831-3456 for more information. DHS hosts robotics event Saturday DALLAS — More than 30 robotics teams from around Oregon and Washington will compete Saturday at Dallas High School’s third annual robotics tournament. Competitions run from 11 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. in the DHS forum and cafeteria, 1250 SE Holman Ave. Members of the public are invited to watch the competition, which pits the teams’ robotics against each other in a set of pre-determined tasks. For more information: Lee.Jones@dsd2.org. ACADEMIC HONORS George Fox announces graduates NEWBERG — Two Polk County students earned degrees dur- ing George Fox University’s mid-year commencement ceremony on Dec. 19. From Dallas: Amy Lowery, Master of Business Administration. From Monmouth: Hailee Gates, Bachelor of Science in psy- chology. More than 250 students received undergraduate and gradu- ate diplomas during the ceremony. Local students earn dean’s list honors NEWBERG — More than 850 traditional undergraduate stu- dents earned dean’s list recognition at George Fox University in the fall of 2015. Students must earn a 3.5 GPA or above on 12 or more hours of graded work to earn a spot on the dean’s list. Polk County students are: Dallas: Michaiah Annear, freshman, elementary education; Asheley Crabtree, sophomore, accounting; Courtney DuMond, senior, biology; Savanna Poston, freshman, organizational com- munication. Monmouth: Ben Griner, senior, computer science; Colton Magill, sophomore, economics and inance. EMILY MENTZER/Itemizer-Observer Western Oregon University non-tenure-track faculty and tenure-track faculty joined together in a demonstration outside of Werner University Center on Jan. 27 to protest the lack of contract between the teachers and university. UNSETTLED TERMS Western Oregon officials, teachers agree on all but salary in negotiations By Emily Mentzer The Itemizer-Observer MONMOUTH — The as- sociate professors at West- ern Oregon University have been working without a contract since the begin- ning of the year, said Mark Perlman, president of the WOU Federation of Teach- ers union. “It was either extend the contract through June or nothing,” he said at the Jan. 27 WOU Board of Trustees meeting. “The university chose nothing.” Members of the WOU fac- ulty union gathered in front of Werner University Center to express their distaste over the negotiations before marching to the administra- tion building to “Tell Presi- dent Rex Fuller” what they thought of the current pro- posal. The bargaining teams from both WOU and the union have been in negotia- tions since February 2015, Perlman said, but have reached an impasse when it comes to salaries. When bargaining started, the university had projected an increase in enrollment, which would have meant more money from tuition and fees, WOU’s website states. Instead, enrollment is down at Western 3.5 percent, or about 160 full-time equiv- alent students. President Rex Fuller said in a report to the board that being short by 100 FTE stu- dents was about the same as $1 million less in revenue, assuming the current mix of EMILY MENTZER/Itemizer-Observer Faculty have been working without a contract at Western Oregon University since the beginning of the year. resident and nonresident students. The university’s most re- cent proposal incudes a 7 percent raise over two years, with 5 percent coming the first year and 2 percent the second, with an additional 3 percent increase in the sec- ond year if fall 2016 enroll- ment increases by 100 FTE students over the 2015 fall enrollment. The way tenure track fac- ulty are paid is different from the way non-tenure- track faculty are paid, and that was one of the topics of conversation at the Jan. 27 meeting. Universities have a two- tier system: tenure track fac- ulty and non-tenure track faculty, David Rives, presi- dent of the American Feder- ation of Teachers of Oregon, said at the meeting, where roughly 60 people attended. Non-tenured-track, or as- sociate professors, work year to year, on appointment, at a lower rate of pay than tenured professors, Rives said. “These are the same teachers, same quality,” he said. “If you were to ask a student, ‘is your teacher tenure-track or non-tenure track,’ they couldn’t tell you.” Rives said it is time for universities to end this prac- tice, particularly since non- tenured professors make up 76 percent of instructors on campuses in Oregon. Molly Mayhead, professor of communication studies, has worked at WOU for 28 years. She is a tenured faculty member, and spoke about how Western administrators have increased in number and in pay. “One administrator was given a $23,000 salary in- crease in a three-year peri- od,” she said. “And then they have the audacity to turn to us with the words, ‘I’m sorry, there’s no more money,’ dripping from their lips.” WOU senior Jenesa Ross said she is worried about the pocketbooks of students. “The students don’t have DALLAS 121 Main St. • 503-623-8155 INDEPENDENCE 1710 Monmouth St. • 503-838-6340 the money,” she said. “We don’t know where our next meal is coming from; 64 per- cent of us are food insecure.” Ross said she agrees that teachers shouldn’t be divid- ed, but noted that increasing tuition is pricing people out of an education. “I’m $40,000 in debt when I’m done here,” she said. “I have to pay that back, and I don’t know how I’m going to do it. I really don’t.” Chloe Hughes said when she started working at WOU in 2003 as an adjunct profes- sor, she found it difficult to survive on the income. “I was a single mother and regularly had to make choices about whether I was going to put gas in my car or feed my kids,” said Hughes, now the coordinator of the undergraduate and post- baccalaureate teach educa- tion program. “That’s a very difficult choice to make.” Hughes said teachers at WOU also use food banks. Members of the union say the average salary for a non- tenure-track professor is $33,000, $13,000 short of the living wage for Polk County, based on Massachusetts In- stitute of Technology’s “Liv- ing Wage Calculator.” “John Minahan, you actu- ally took a salary cut and you led the way,” she said to Minahan, who is a member of the board of trustees. “I can’t get over how many in- creases there have been on this campus, and we’re say- ing we can’t afford to give in- creases to faculty here.” Minahan was president of WOU from 2005 to 2011. Perlman said the differ- ence between what the union is asking and what the university is proposing is $210,000. According to the universi- ty, the difference between the two proposals is larger. According to WOU, the uni- versity’s proposal would cost $2.89 million over the bienni- um, while the union’s propos- al will cost $4.23 million. For more information about the negotiations, in- cluding copies of docu- ments used in talks between the university and union: www.wou.edu/facultynego- tiations. Mon-Fri 8AM - 6PM • Sat 8AM - 5PM Prices good through February 29, 2016
