Polk County Education
10A Polk County Itemizer-Observer • May 24, 2017
Web: Students must be organized
Continued from Page 14A
WEB leaders have to
make up that missed
schoolwork, so they must
be well organized and stu-
dious.
Ryan Fitts said he finishes
as much work as he can in
class, and has a plan for
when he gets home so he
can keep up with his aca-
demics while participating
in WEB.
But it’s worth it to the stu-
dents to help others.
It wasn’t that long ago
they were the new kids on
the block at Talmadge.
“I remember I was super
excited to get my locker, and
then I couldn’t reach the top
shelf,” Fitts said.
Crystal Rodriguez said she
enjoys helping others feel
more comfortable.
“I was really shy and
didn’t want to be open that
much,” she said about her-
self in sixth grade. WEB lead-
ers helped her get more in-
volved and comfortable with
the situation.
Sometimes WEB leaders
will sit with someone at
lunch who has no one else
to sit by, Elijah Mierau
said.
“On the rare occasion,
you have to break up a
fight,” he said. But they try
and keep their language
positive. Rather than saying,
“Don’t do that,” they say,
“That’s cool, but ….”
Sixth-graders can be
ornery, WEB leaders said,
and they have to organize
activities for everyone.
“Our goal is to make sure
everyone belongs,” Webb
said. “It’s literally what WEB
stands for.”
FCSD budget includes gym money
By Jolene Guzman
The Itemizer-Observer
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FALLS CITY — The 2017-
18 Falls City School District
budget includes money to
hire more teachers and, de-
pending on how the bids
come in, build an elementary
school gym.
The budget committee ap-
proved the budget on May
16, with a grand total of $4.2
million and a general fund of
nearly $3.5 million.
Next year’s budget is based
on state funding in the
amount of $7.9 billion. While
conversation had been that
the figure will be $7.8 billion,
which would mean adjust-
ments, Superintendent Jack
Thompson is now hearing
the figure will be closer to $8
billion.
“I think I’m going to be
safe and I’m not having to go
b a c k a n d m a k e c u t s,”
Thompson said.
The approved budget gets
the district a step closer to
one of its main objectives at
the elementary school.
“The board’s long-term
goal is to have a teacher at
each grade level,” Thompson
said.
Most classes at the ele-
mentary school now have
combined classes with two
grade levels taught by one
teacher. This year, the district
split the seventh and eighth
grade classes because it
would be too big combined.
Next year, it’s the first- and
second-grade class that is
projected to be crowded.
“Our first and second
grade would be 35 if we left
them combined,” Thompson
said.
The committee decided to
add a teacher to split the
classes, but also leave the
seventh-eighth grade classes
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separate, even though the
student count wouldn’t be so
high in 2017-18.
“The board really wanted
to not move backward,”
Thompson said.
At the high school level,
the staff is being shuffled
with the creation of a dean of
students position, which will
be filled with a “teacher on
special assignment.”
The position was created
because Thompson will be
leaving the district after this
school year. He served as the
high school principal in ad-
dition to superintendent.
The elementary school prin-
cipal will be the district’s in-
terim superintendent next
year, so a supervisory posi-
tion is needed at the high
school.
Student discipline, day-to-
day operations in the school,
and teaching two classes will
be the primary responsibili-
ties of the post, which will be
filled by Micke Kidd.
The part-time science
teacher will be moved to full-
time and another half-time
teacher will be added, with
the plan now to teach lan-
guage arts, Thompson said.
A $400,000 loan to build
an elementary school gym is
included in the budget.
Thompson said the loan
hasn’t been secured yet, and
the district is in the begin-
ning stages of figuring out
how much the building will
cost.
He noted the vision for the
building has been scaled
back significantly after a
bond to pay for a bigger facil-
ity failed twice. That left the
district to face dealing with
eventual increases to physi-
cal education requirements
and crowded practice sched-
ules at the high school gym
with limited resources,
Thompson said.
“The need has not
changed,” he said. “Kids still
need a place to play.”
Last week, the board
agreed to pursue a bid from a
steel building company for a
basic structure with a floor,
heat and electricity.
Thompson said that com-
pany indicated it would be
possible to build that for less
than $400,000 leaving room
for permit costs and a contin-
gency for overruns. He said
the district will have a better
idea in a month or so if it can
move forward with its plan.
The Falls City School Board
is scheduled to hold a public
hearing and vote on adopting
the budget on June 13.
(June 1 market)
Grand Ronde CASA
Committee approves
DSD 2017-18 budget
– Volunteer recruitment
Olive Growers of Oregon
– Tasting event
Facebook.com/bountymarket
503-623-2564
By Jolene Guzman
The Itemizer-Observer
http://www.exploredallasoregon.org/bounty-market.html
DALLAS — The Dallas
School District Budget Com-
mittee approved the 2017-18
budget on May 17, and set
priorities for additional
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2017 Relay For Life
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Dallas School District
Polk County Itemizer -Observer
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Republic Services
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funding if the Oregon Legis-
lature sends more than $7.8
billion to schools.
Dallas’ budget is based on
a funding level of $7.8 billion
for the 2017-19 biennium,
but the Legislature hasn’t ap-
proved the school’s budget
yet, leaving the door open to
a higher funding level.
“Right now, the real mes-
sage that we are getting is
hold. We are still standing at
$7.8 billion because that is
the last best information
that we have,” said Tami
Montague, the district’s fis-
cal services director.
Montague said the May 16
state revenue forecast indi-
cated there will be more rev-
enue to fill the state’s shortfall.
“The irony there is that
there is enough new revenue
now that they believe it will
kick the kicker,” she said.
A “kicker” happens when
revenue comes in at least 2
percent higher than estimat-
ed. The personal kicker re-
turns money to taxpayers
through a credit on tax re-
turns. Corporate kickers go
toward K-12 education.
With some uncertainty,
the budget committee ap-
proved the budget as first
presented, but gave instruc-
tions for the Dallas school
board to follow if more
money is allocated.
The committee recom-
mended the board consider
suggestions from the dis-
trict’s collaboration team, a
group of teachers and ad-
ministrators that is involved
in creating the budget.
With increasing PERS
costs in mind, committee
member Linda Fox said the
district should increase its
beginning fund balance,
money carried over from the
previous year.
The committee also sug-
gested the board should use
unexpected resources to shrink
the size of elementary classes.
After approving the budg-
et unanimously, the com-
mittee voted to put those
suggestions into a formal
recommendation.
The board is scheduled to
hold a public hearing on the
budget on June 12.
Dallas Schools 2017-18
budget