A8 The BulleTin • Wednesday, May 5, 2021
EDITORIALS & OPINIONS
AN INDEPENDENT NEWSPAPER
Heidi Wright
Gerry O’Brien
Richard Coe
Publisher
Editor
Editorial Page Editor
Candidate picks
for Bend schools
T
here may be worse incidents of candidates refusing to answer
questions and attend debates. But the worst example we have
in Bend is in the current races for Bend-La Pine School Board.
Let’s make it clear right up front
who you should vote for Bend schools:
Carrie McPherson Douglass, Marcus
LeGrand, Shirley Olson and Janet Sarai
Llerandi.
The League of Women Voters held a
debate. McPherson Douglass, LeGrand,
Olson and Llerandi attended. Their op-
ponents did not.
The Bulletin’s editorial board at-
tempted to interview all the candidates
running for Bend-La Pine Schools. We
had no trouble interviewing McPher-
son Douglass, LeGrand, Olson and Lle-
randi. The other four did not respond
or responded and then did nothing.
The Bulletin’s news reporting staff at-
tempted to interview all the candidates.
McPherson Douglass, LeGrand, Ol-
son and Llerandi all responded. Maria
Lopez-Dauenhauer, who is running
against Douglass, and Wendy Imel, who
is running against Marcus LeGrand,
also responded. Gregg Henton and Jon
Haffner did not.
We should note that one candidate
appearing on the ballot has said he has
withdrawn from the race, Cab Burge.
Why have Lopez-Dauenhauer, Imel,
Henton and Haffner been less than
committed to making themselves avail-
able to voters than others? We can spec-
ulate, though we don’t know
We can tell you what it means for vot-
ers. Voters don’t know enough about
who they are and what they stand for.
On the school board, you have to be
responsive to voters. You have to make
yourself available to constituents. They
have demonstrated they are not as in-
terested in that. Does it mean that if
they are elected they would not engage
with constituents? No. But you have
four excellent choices who have been
forthcoming about who they are and
what they stand for.
McPherson Douglass is an incum-
bent. On a board with a lot of turnover,
that matters. It is far from her only
qualification. She works with school
boards across the country on making
them function better. She was born
and raised here, which helps. She un-
derstands business and finance. Dou-
glass worked hard to reopen schools
and keep children and school staff safe.
That required working collaboratively,
not diktat. And she is committed to en-
suring the district serves all students
well.
LeGrand is Black and has worked for
the last 11 years helping students from
a counselor’s perspective, building rela-
tionships and helping them overcome
barriers. He is the college and career
success coach at Central Oregon Com-
munity College, and a board member
of The Father’s Group — that’s a Bend
nonprofit primarily led by Black fathers.
He is ideally positioned to know what
makes a student ready for college and
or other advanced training and how to
work with students who might be slip-
ping through the cracks.
Olson spent her career in education
— 38 years as school administrator and
school consultant. She said one thing
her experience has taught her is that
the members of the school board won’t
necessarily have the answers. They need
to ask the right questions. They need
to listen to the community. She is very
concerned with the loss of learning
that students have experienced over the
pandemic and wants to work with the
district to overcome that.
Llerandi is Latino and works as an
administrator for two local education
nonprofits Better Together and the
Early Learning Hub of Central Ore-
gon. She is also the executive director
of Mecca Bend, a Latino-focused non-
profit organization. Llerandi is the par-
ent of two Latino students who are ex-
periencing many of the challenges that
other Latino students are facing. She
said there is no foolproof way for the
district to ensure it serves all students.
She would work to ensure it does.
McPherson Douglass, LeGrand, Ol-
son and Llerandi for Bend-La Pine
Schools.
And to sum up other endorsements
in some local races, we have already
endorsed:
• Martha Lawler for the Deschutes
Public Library Board.
• Nathan Hovekamp, Zavier Borja
and Deb Schoen for board of the Bend
Park & Recreation District.
Whatever you may decide, please
vote.
Spend aid money wisely
D
eschutes County commission-
ers may get as much as $38 mil-
lion in federal relief money to
spend — the first $19 million by May 11
and the second half coming later in the
month.
How should they spend it?
They can’t spend it on whatever they
want. The initial federal guidelines al-
low spending on:
• Responding to the public health
challenges of the pandemic.
• Funding government services
that may have been reduced by the
pandemic.
• Spending on water, sewer and
broadband infrastructure.
• Giving premium pay to county em-
ployees providing essential work during
the pandemic or providing grants to
employers whose employers provide es-
sential work during the pandemic.
More guidelines on the spending may
come. But the commissioners will surely
listen to your ideas. It’s on the agenda
for Wednesday’s meeting. You can email
them at board@deschutes.org or call
and leave a voicemail at (541) 385-1734.
Editorials reflect the views of The Bulletin’s editorial board, Publisher Heidi Wright, Editor Gerry
O’Brien and Editorial Page Editor Richard Coe. They are written by Richard Coe.
My Nickel’s Worth
McPherson Douglass and LeGrand
for Bend schools
My ballot arrived on Saturday,
was eagerly filled out and is already
in the mailbox to be picked up on
Monday! If you aren’t as obsessive
as I am, and are still wondering who
to vote for, I want to strongly en-
courage you to support two amaz-
ing candidates for the Bend-La Pine
School Board: Carrie McPherson
Douglass and Marcus LeGrand.
They bring extensive experience
in education and each has spent a
substantial number of years in the
community. (Carrie graduated from
Bend Hight School!) They have
proven track records and have made
significant investments — in both
time and energy — in numerous
projects and activities that benefit
this community and our children.
Carrie and Marcus are incredibly
hardworking, passionate and ap-
proachable people who try to build
partnerships and create win-win
situations. I know them personally
and can heartily say that we will be
a better community with them on
the school board!
— Bruce Abernethy, Bend
Help the people who live here
Kudos to Bill Eddie! Finally some-
one had the guts to write in a guest
column in The Bulletin about how
I feel/hope a lot of us Bendites are
thinking — that someone needs to
jump on the City Council/Visitors
Bureau to stop 1) promoting Bend
as the place to visit/live, and 2) giv-
ing what looks like carte blanche to
builders to destroy what open areas
we have left to build homes/apart-
ments, etc. wherever and whenever
they can. Example, the closing of
River’s Edge Golf Course, which will
house more and more million-dol-
lar homes, the buildup of at least
100 homes, etc. on the east side,
bordering Deschutes Market Road
and Butler Market Road and more.
When will all this stop? Or will we
eventually become conjoined with
La Pine to the south, Powell Butte to
the east, Redmond to the north and
Sisters to the west and beyond? A lot
of us won’t be alive to witness this
sprawl, but until then are there not
enough Bendites who are willing
to be up in arms about what’s hap-
pening to our area? Certainly there
are some of you willing to fight for
keeping more open spaces! Reread
Bill Eddie’s column in the Sunday
Bulletin. It can’t be explained any
better than that!
— Clarissa Jurgensen, Bend
itive contributions she has made
to our community. Please join us
in voting for her reelection to the
board.
— Larry and Katie Kimmel, Bend
Vora for Bend parks
Robin Vora has served as a col-
league with me on the Bend His-
toric Landmarks Commission for
the past five years. In that time the
commission has made decisions
regarding some contentious build-
ing projects in the Historic District.
Robin has always been prepared
for these decisions by collecting the
facts of each project, listening to all
the pros and cons of the proposals,
knowing and understanding the
role of the commission and apply-
ing the letter and spirit of city ordi-
nance and state and federal guide-
lines in a fair and problem-solving
manner. In my role as chair of the
commission, I have found him co-
operative, businesslike, and though
sometimes we disagree, easy to
work with.
I know Robin serves the commu-
nity in more ways than the Land-
marks Commission. For instance,
he also served on the Bend Urban
Renewal Advisory Board and serves
on the Deschutes Soil and Water
Conservation District Board. In ad-
dition to the government agencies,
he is also a volunteer for the Tower
Theatre. No one serves Bend more
than Robin Vora. He would make
an excellent member of the board of
directors of the Bend Park & Rec-
reation District. I urge all Bend vot-
ers to elect Robin Vora to the park
board. This is a personal endorse-
ment of Robin Vora and not to be
construed as anything more than an
expression of my regard for Robin.
McPherson Douglass for Bend schools
Katie and I have been residents of
Bend for 47 years. During that time
we have always exercised our right
to vote. We pay close attention to
local, state and federal elections. We
have always supported our schools,
and, during these times of uncer-
tainty, it is extremely important to
ensure we have the leadership on
our school board that provides our
children, our teachers and our com-
munity with the support necessary
to give all of us a viable path going
forward.
Carrie McPherson Douglass is
the right choice for Bend-La Pine
School Board director, Zone 1. She
is a tireless worker, compassionate,
knowledgeable and committed. She
cares deeply about our kids and
brings all the tools required to serve
the board in a capacity that will en-
hance the success of Bend-La Pine
Schools.
We have known Carrie for all of
her life and thank her for the pos-
—Jerry Sebestyen, Bend
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Equal access to standardized sex ed is essential for youth
BY LILIANA CABRERA
W
ith some young people re-
turning to in-person school
and others still distance
learning, education across the coun-
try remains wildly inconsistent. That’s
why Planned Parenthood Columbia
Willamette is recognizing Sex Ed for
All Month, an urgent campaign to en-
sure all students have equitable access
to truly comprehensive sexuality edu-
cation — developmentally appropri-
ate, medically accurate and inclusive.
All young people deserve access to
the information and resources they
need to protect their health, fulfill
their goals and make the best deci-
sions for themselves about sex and re-
lationships — free from shame, judg-
ment or stigma.
We know that access to sex edu-
cation and sexual and reproductive
health care services is critical to safe
and healthy teens. The overwhelming
majority of people agree: Young people
should have access to sex education.
Unfortunately, too many students
in the United States aren’t getting the
life skills they need. Too often, the sex
education young people receive — if
they do — is based on who they are
and where they live. Sex ed varies sig-
nificantly based on state laws, school
district policies, teacher training and
other factors. This leads to inequities
in the breadth and depth of sex educa-
tion from classroom to classroom.
According to the Centers for Dis-
ease Control and Prevention, fewer
than half of all high schools and only
1 in 5 middle schools are teaching the
“essential” topics, which include HIV,
STI and pregnancy prevention.
According to the Guttmacher In-
stitute, only 30 states and the District
of Columbia mandate sex education
— but with no guarantee that it is
medically accurate, age-appropriate
GUEST COLUMN
or unbiased. Only
nine states and the
District of Colum-
bia are actually pro-
viding positive,0.
LGBTQ-inclusive
sex education cur-
Cabrera
ricula; most sex ed-
ucation programs
leave queer youth
out of the conversation.
Oregon is fortunate to be among
those few states with a strong sex ed-
ucation law, but because of uneven
local policies, funding and training,
the quality of programs varies, if they
exist at all.
Let’s be clear: Sex education IS ed-
ucation. It gives young people the
knowledge and skills they need for a
lifetime of good health: how to think
critically about the world, practice
good allyship across identities, advo-
cate for themselves and love them-
selves for who they are. It helps them
build healthy relationships and have
the opportunity to practice good
communication skills before they be-
come sexually active.
Young people deserve culturally spe-
cific sex education that recognizes all of
who they are and all that they could be.
This means ensuring they are seen for
their unique experiences with identity,
sexuality, relationships and culture —
particularly those in rural areas; youth
with lower incomes; Black, Latino, In-
digenous and other people of color;
LGBTQ youth; immigrant youth; and
youth with disabilities.
As the nation’s largest provider of
sex education, Planned Parenthood is
committed to making sex education
more accessible, more equitable and
more inclusive — for all. Our growing
library of YouTube videos for young
people model healthy communication
about consent, safer sex and STIs. On-
line tools at PlannedParenthood.org
can supplement existing programs by
helping teens, parents and educators
to better access the information and
resources they need.
Sex Ed for All Month affirms our
commitment to stand with young
people. With our partner organiza-
tions, Planned Parenthood Columbia
Willamette is committed to sexual
and reproductive health care, rights
and education, and we will continue
to provide and advocate for the sex
education young people deserve.
Together, we can ensure that all
young people have the information
and skills they need to lead their
healthiest lives.
e e
Liliana Cabrera serves as education and outreach
coordinator for Planned Parenthood Columbia
Willamette’s Bend Health Center, PPCW.org.