LOCAL & STATE
THURSDAY, MAY 21, 2020
BAKER CITY HERALD — 5A
Courthouse security to get upgrade
By Samantha O’Conner
soconner@bakercityherald.com
Baker County commis-
sioners on Wednesday ap-
proved a $56,000 upgrade
to the security system at
the Baker County Court-
house.
The money is from the
state court system, not
county tax dollars, said
Bill Harvey, Commission
chairman.
Commissioners also
designated Avigilon as the
sole source provider for the
equipment.
The reason, said Dan
McQuisten, the county’s
facilities director, is that
the current mainframe
computer server and op-
erating system are propri-
etary equipment made by
Avigilon, and the goal is to
ensure that the upgraded
equipment, including new
cameras, will integrate
with the current system.
“It’s just acknowledg-
ing the fact that we’re not
going out to bid from all
possible providers of that
type of technology because
we want to continue utiliz-
ing what we already have,”
McQuisten said.
The actual contract is
with Blue Horizon of Hills-
boro, an authorized retailer
of Avigilon products.
Among the upgrades
are replacing six exterior
cameras, some of which will
have a 360-degree view.
Another 16 cameras
will be installed inside the
Courthouse, some replacing
existing cameras and some
in new locations.
“In the past we’ve had
just a system that was put
in years ago and we have
had some blind spots in
SCHOOLS
Continued from Page 1A
“I personally hope — and quite
frankly, pray — we are in in-person
school,” Witty told the budget board
during its fi rst meeting of the season
via Zoom video session. Witty added
that the face-to-face relationships
built between students and staff are
a vital element of education.
Witty said Gov. Kate Brown has
asked all state agencies to reduce
their budgets by 8.5% per year for
the biennium, which amounts to
17% for the coming year since the
current fi scal year ends June 30.
With Wednesday’s release of the
state’s latest revenue forecast, the
governor issued a statement recog-
nizing that the needs of Oregonians
during the coronavirus pandemic
“far outstrip” state resources.
“We will need to tighten our belts,”
she said. “I am working with leg-
islative leaders to preserve critical
state services, fi nd effi ciencies, and
prepare for potential budget cuts.”
In a telephone interview while
walking to lunch in the rain
Wednesday, Witty said the revenue
forecast was not as bad as he’d
He also said county
offi cials are working with
the Baker County Fair
Board to ensure the Fair, in
some capacity, happens this
August.
“It’ll look totally differ-
ent, probably, not knowing
what phase two is,” Bennett
said, referring to the second
COVID-19 issues
phase of the state’s reopen-
Commissioner Mark
ing plan.
Bennett said county of-
Baker County started
fi cials have been working
the fi rst phase on May 15
to ensure that personal
and could potentially move
protective equipment the
into the second phase by
county has received
early June.
through the federal CARES
“It will look consider-
Act is delivered where it’s
ably different than the
needed.
normal Baker County
“We’ve supported that
Fair but it will be a fair
with staff from the asses-
so that the kids will have
sors offi ce and delivering it something for the summer
out to the rural communi- after they’ve invested all
ties and sorting it and get- this work in getting their
ting shipments in,” Bennett livestock and other exhibits
said.
ready,” Bennett said.
areas,” Harvey said. “And
this helps us to not only
see something going on
at the moment but it also
records it for when we pos-
sibly need it for evidence
in a case if somebody does
something wrong, we have
it recorded.”
expected based on earlier conversa-
tions. As a result, he doesn’t think
agencies will be forced to make the
full 17% in cuts.
He said school districts expect to
be notifi ed by the state Department
of Education in early June about the
strategy for reopening schools.
Summer school guidelines
already have been received and
Baker’s Summer Academy program
should serve as a good practice for
reopening in the fall.
Witty said he hopes the governor
will allow schools to reopen in a way
that best suits the coronavirus situ-
ation in their own communities.
Just as counties have been al-
lowed to begin to reopen based on
the number of COVID-19 cases and
their ability to respond to them, he
hopes the same will be true of the
schools.
“The groups I work with certainly
would like to see it more localized if
we have fewer cases,” he said.
As of Wednesday, Baker County
has had one confi rmed case.
Although the District will be
prepared for in-person school at the
highest level in the fall, it also will
be preparing for distance learning
and everything in between, Witty
said.
He told the budget board mem-
bers Tuesday night that he expects
education to fare well when the Leg-
islature meets to consider cuts be-
cause of the strong lobbying efforts
through the Oregon School Boards
Association, the Confederation of
Oregon School Administrators, the
Oregon Education Association and
parenting organizations.
With that hope moving forward,
Witty said the District has built its
proposed 2020-21 budget based on
the $9 billion landmark state school
funding measure approved by the
Legislature for the 2019-2021 bien-
nium, “with obvious ways to step
down.”
Witty’s optimism is fueled by
several factors, he told the budget
board members.
First, the Baker School District’s
fi nancial position is better than
many school districts because of
the entrepreneurial projects it has
undertaken over the past decade,
including development of the Baker
Charter Schools, Baker Technical
Institute and aggressively seeking
grants and outside contracts.
State expecting
$3 billion shortfall
By Peter Wong
Oregon Capital Bureau
Gov. Kate Brown says federal
aid must go hand in hand with
spending cuts to offset almost $3
billion that state tax collections
and other sources will be short.
Brown made her statement
Wednesday after state econo-
mists told lawmakers that the
COVID-19 coronavirus pandem-
ic has resulted in an unprece-
dented economic downturn from
shutdowns in business activity
and public life.
Oregon’s unemployment rate
jumped from a modern low of
3.5% in March to a modern high
of 14.2% in April. Oregon’s state
general fund budget draws more
than 90% of its money from
personal and corporate income
taxes. The combined general
fund and lottery budget for the
“In effect, the decision the board
made a decade ago to alleviate any
recession is coming to fruition,”
Witty said.
He acknowledged, however, that
the challenges brought about by the
COVID-19 pandemic are greater
than any seen before in state his-
tory.
The increased funding for educa-
tion and early learning is “most
likely to be nullifed by the CO-
VID-19 recession” Witty’s written
budget message stated. However,
the superintendent pointed to the
Education Stability Fund and the
Rainy Day Fund, which, he said,
are both in better fi nancial condi-
tion than ever before to help backfi ll
funding losses.
Cost-saving measures already
implemented by the District include
a spending freeze, furloughing
employees through the Employment
Department’s Work Share program,
increasing Medicaid billing and a
hiring slowdown.
Witty said the deputy superinten-
dent of public instruction stated in
a recent meeting that the accom-
modations schools are making to
cope with the coronavirus might be
2019-21 cycle is about $23.7
billion, and virtually all of the
potential spending cuts of $2.7
billion will fall within the second
year starting July 1.
“The steepness of this decline
is unprecedented,” State
Economist Mark McMullen said
during a video conference of
the House and Senate revenue
committees.
While he and Senior Econo-
mist Josh Lehner said they
expected a quick economic
recovery when business activ-
ity resumes — as early as the
second half of 2020, and an “all
clear” by mid-2021 — “it takes a
full year or more before pain is
realized.”
They also projected that state
coffers will get less than origi-
nally forecast in the following
two budget cycles.
in place for two years, continuing
through the 2021-22 school year.
The Baker School District’s
proposed 2020-21 budget totals
$68,073,037. That includes:
• General Fund — $53,446,121
• Special Funds — $8,823,503
• PERS Debt Fund — $1,662,865
• Capital Project Fund —
$3,185,000
• Enterprise Fund — $870,033
• Trust and Agency Funds —
$868,514
More information and a copy of
the complete budget proposal is
available online at www.5j.org or
by calling the District Offi ce at 541-
524-2260.
The budget committee includes
the fi ve School Board members —
Chris Hawkins, chair; Katie Lamb,
vice chair; Kevin Cassidy, Julie
Huntington and Andrew Bryan.
The committee’s other members
are community representatives
Linda Cyr, who was elected budget
committee chair Tuesday; Wes Price,
who was elected vice chair; and
members Rosemary Abell, Josey
Gaslin and Mike Rudi.
The group’s next Zoom video ses-
sion will be at 5 p.m. May 26.
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