February 9, 2018 | Cannon Beach Gazette | cannonbeachgazette.com • 7A
Community
interest puts
purchasing
former
school back
on the table
SCHOOL
FOR SALE
By Brenna Visser
Cannon Beach Gazette
After more than four years,
the former Cannon Beach
Elementary School still sits
vacant at the entrance of the
town.
Some of the water foun-
tains have started to grow
moss. Old school chairs and
debris from strong winter
storms are scattered on the
gym floor. The school, known
for its dome-like gym, was
closed due to tsunami safety
concerns and lack of funding
in 2013.
In the last few months, the
city has received a growing
number of letters with a simi-
lar request: Is the city going to
buy the school?
Cannon Beach has consid-
ered purchasing the building
from Seaside School District.
Progress has been slowed by
concerns about how it would
be funded and how it fits with
other looming capital projects
like the South Wind evacu-
ation site and an aging City
Hall.
The city and the school
district were unable to come
to an agreement during pre-
liminary negotiations last
year, and the project shifted to
the back burner.
But interest from individu-
als and around Cannon Beach,
as well as a survey showing
77 percent of citizens believe
developing the school into a
community center is a priori-
ty, has put acquiring the facil-
ity back on the table.
“Some may say, ‘Why
would you want to buy an old
gym building?’” said Mayor
Sam Steidel, a longtime pro-
ponent of buying the proper-
ty. “It used to be a very cen-
tral part of the community.
And it’s the entrance to our
town. People care about that,
and I think there’s been lots
of efforts by citizens to say
so.”
Roley said all school sites
will be appraised again this
spring.
Interested parties
Worries about cost
It would cost $450,000
to purchase the property, ac-
cording to 2016 estimates.
The cost of interior and ex-
terior renovations would be
about $371,000, according to
Coaster Construction. While
most of the classrooms in the
1950s-era building would be
unusable, an engineering re-
port concluded the gym was
in good condition.
Due to age and the years of
sitting dormant, Steidel said
there are worries about unex-
pected costs and the upkeep it
would take to run it.
“What’s scaring people is
the maintenance and the re-
modeling. You don’t know
what you are going to find,”
Steidel said.
With a $99.7 million bond
COLIN MURPHEY/EO MEDIA GROUP
Top: The expansive gym at the Cannon Beach Elementary
School sits unused. Below: Chairs and other signs that the
building once served as a school.
project in full swing to relo-
cate four school buildings out
of the tsunami zone, Seaside
School District Superinten-
dent Sheila Roley said the dis-
trict has no interest in acting
as a landlord for old school
sites.
“We’re happy to talk to the
city (of Cannon Beach) about
any interest in the school,”
Roley said. “We haven’t had
any recent conversations, but
we would love to have that
building as a Cannon Beach
community facility.”
Since the school’s closure,
many groups have come for-
ward with ideas on how to
preserve the property. More
than 50 members of the Can-
non Beach Chorus wrote to
the City Council to advocate
for the building to become a
community center and con-
cert hall. The Haystack Rock
Awareness Program has ex-
pressed interest in using it as a
possible art and ecology cen-
ter. Many residents say they
want a place big enough for
the community to gather.
Some of the urgency for
the city to buy the proper-
ty comes from groups like
the Greater Ecola Natural
Area and Ecola Watershed
Council, which say the city
buying the school is the best
way to ensure an ecological-
ly and culturally sensitive
area is protected. Adjacent to
the building is NeCus Park,
named after the Native Amer-
ican village that once stood
there.
“A part of the vision for Ne-
Cus has always been to acquire
the remainder of the site in order
to create a gateway to Cannon
Beach that celebrates the natu-
ral beauty and cultural history
of this extraordinary place,”
said Katie Voelke, chairwoman
of the Greater Ecola Natural
Area. “Cannon Beach and its
real estate is some of the most
sought after in the state. This
property will likely sell to a
private party, possibly shutting
the community out from a cher-
ished location.”
The school district has also
had conversations about the
property with members of the
Clatsop-Nehalem Confeder-
ated Tribes in the last week,
Roley said. Officials from
the tribe were unable to be
reached for comment.
While there are many com-
peting visions for the space,
Steidel said it is a testament to
the building’s versatility.
“I think all this interest
shows the enormity of what
it could be used for. What’s
better than having a build-
ing that’s constantly used?”
Steidel said.
Moving forward
With community support
again on the rise, the city will
continue to discuss funding
options at an upcoming work
session, as well as how it could
be balanced with other capital
projects. Some new ideas are
already being explored, like
researching whether some of
the dollars allocated to the
Tourism and Arts Commission
could be reserved for running
a community center. Other op-
tions, like floating a bond or
fundraising, will be discussed,
Steidel said.
While all five city coun-
cilors listed purchasing the
school as a priority at a recent
goal-setting retreat, Steidel was
the only one to list it as No. 1.
“It’s doable right now.
South Wind takes a lot of long-
term planning. This is some-
thing achievable if people are
behind it.”
Seaside, Astoria graduation rates see double-digit dips
Numbers are off,
principals say
By Edward Stratton
and R.J. Marx
EO Media Group
Graduation rates in Asto-
ria and Seaside slumped by
about 10 percent last year in
figures released by the state
Department of Education. But
local officials, including Sea-
side High School Principal
Jeff Roberts and Astoria High
School Principal Lynn Jack-
son, are scratching their heads
over the numbers.
Astoria and Seaside, Clat-
sop County’s two largest
school districts, each aver-
aged more than 74 percent
in 2016. But Astoria slipped
to 63.3 percent last year, and
Seaside to 66.7 percent.
“There’s a 7 percent dis-
crepancy from my numbers
to their numbers,” Jackson
said, estimating his district’s
four-year graduation rate at
between 70 and 72 percent.
About five students count-
ed by the state as dropouts
had graduated last year, while
several others had moved out
of the school district, Jackson
said.
The state defines on-time
graduation as finishing in four
years. Statewide, 76.7 percent
of seniors finished with a di-
ploma in four years, a nearly
2 percent increase from 2016
but still among the worst
graduation rates in the nation.
The national graduation rate
in 2016 was 84 percent, ac-
cording to the National Center
for Education Statistics.
The state’s numbers say
41 Seaside students did not
graduate, using that number
for calculations. That number
should have been much lower,
Roberts said.
Roberts said 133 students
entered as freshmen at Seaside
High School in 2013-14. Over
the course of the four-year
period that is measured the
district had 24 of those stu-
dents leave with codes that
the Department of Education
considers as drop-outs or not
finishing in four years.
Some of those should not
be considered dropouts, Rob-
erts said.
“My math tells me that is
18 percent of that class that
dropped out in that time frame,
31 of those 133 students left
Seaside High School at some
point to pursue their edu-
cation in a manner that was
deemed not to be considered
a dropout, per ODE, which
could include completing a
GED program, transferring to
another school in state, trans-
ferring to another school out
of state, or enrolling in online
school,” Roberts said.
If that number had been
used, the graduation rate would
have been similar to previous
years, about 76 percent.
Warrenton-Hammond,
the county’s third-largest and
fastest-growing school dis-
trict, posted a 76.2 percent
four-year graduation rate last
year, continuing a steady in-
crease stretching back at least
six years.
Warrenton High School
Principal Rod Heyen estimat-
ed his graduation rate at 80
percent, equating to two or
three more students than the
state counted, but said over-
all he is pleased with the dis-
trict’s progress.
Warrenton regularly aver-
ages the highest rate of student
homelessness in the county,
with many students forced to
share housing with family and
friends out of economic need.
Heyen credited district staff
and community partners for
providing the necessary sup-
port such as food and cloth-
ing to keep students going to
school.
Knappa High School im-
proved from a 70 percent
four-year graduation rate in
2016 to 90 percent last year,
by far the highest in the coun-
ty.
Knappa High School Prin-
cipal Laurel Smalley said
there’s no one magic bullet,
but that the district has expe-
rienced a culture shift toward
valuing education.
The graduation figures of
Jewell, a tiny rural school dis-
trict in the southeastern corner
of the county, fluctuate wildly,
with class sizes often below 15
students. The district graduat-
ed six out of eight students last
year, according to the state.
Voters in 2016 approved
about $800 per student
through Measure 98 to im-
prove dropout prevention,
collegiate offerings and ca-
reer-technical programs. The
state Legislature funded the
measure at about $400 per
student.
The measure’s funding
has been used by school dis-
tricts for freshmen advising.
Freshmen who stay on track
and average good grades are
dramatically more likely to
graduate.
Seaside has yet to approach
the state about the discrepan-
cy. Meanwhile, they intend to
work to improve their gradua-
tion rates, Roberts said.
“Our goal will always be
for 100 percent of students to
earn a high school diploma,”
Roberts added. “It is certain-
ly a concern and will remain
a concern until we are able to
work with our staff, parents,
the students and community
partners to consistently en-
sure our students earn a high
school diploma.”
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