Over 200 attend meeting, most oppose cuts
School board approves
$ 992,000 in budget cuts
D C 3JÌ8 "c t s e l l
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VOL 119
NO. 7
i
Ü.I
•) i i j j
10 Pages
Wednesday. February 16,2000
Morrow County, Heppner. Oregon
MCGG holds annual Customer Appreciation Day
Morrow County Fair & Oregon Trail Pro Rodeo Queen Tracy Rankin (right) tries out a tub with a couple of
friends at the MCGG annual customer appreciation day Saturday.
Pancake breakfast at the Morrow County Grain Growers customer appreciation day Saturday is enjoyed
by (left to right) Amy, Becca, Suzanne and Eric Jepsen.
St. Pat’s Celebration seeks donations
With the St. Patrick's Day
Celebration just over one month
away, the auction committee is at
work to make this year's auction
"entertaining, exciting and big.”
said the St. Patrick's Committee
'"Tis a great amount of support
we are needin' for the auction.”
says the committee.
The members are seeking and
accepting donations .for the live
auction, silent auction, drawings
and country store. They have
noted increasing interest and
support from businesses and
individuals over the past three
years and hope that this year's
event will continue that trend
While the committee continues
to fine-tune the Sunday. March
19. event, it does offer a peek at
some features: entertainment this
year will come from Ron
McDonald's Outhouse Singers, a
"fun-loving, versatile group of
musicians and singers" who will
offer almost two hours of music
before bidding begins and
provide some music during two
breaks in the auction.
The Country Store will open
when viewing of auction items
begins at 11 a.m. that day. The
drawings for a "pot o' gold" and
for the 1972 Volkswagen "Bug"
will be two highlights at this
year’s event. Tickets for the VW
drawing arc now available at
Murray's drug store and at the
office of Kuhn. Spicer and Mills
Soon, committee members will
also have those tickets available
An auction schedule and list
of items will be published at a
later date
The committee welcomes
donations of new. antique and
fine-quality items. Although it
plans a noisy kick-off to local
solicitations on Monday. I eb 21.
the committee wants donors to
know that items are already
being offered and accepted and
that donors do not have to wait.
They are invited to contact
committee members Diana Ball.
John and Ann Murray. Cara
Osmin, Tom and Jem Sly. \nn
Spicer or Pam Wunderlich
Donors who wish to donate
may call 676-5886 during the
day to arrange for pickup of
items or call 676-5382 in the
evenings.
St. Pat’s
to meet
The Heppner St Patrick's
Committee
will meet on
Thursday. February 17. at 6:30
p.m.. upstairs at Kate’s With the
Wee Bit O' Ireland celebration
just one month away it is
important that all committee
chairmen involved in any way
with the event be present to go
over the agenda, give input on
decisions and support to the
committee, said Claudia Hughes,
co-chair
1 he Morrow County School
Board, at its February 14 regular
meeting at Sam Boardman
Elementary School Monday,
voted to cut $992.000 from the
2000-2001
budget
despite
impassioned pleas to the contrary
from many people in the
audience.
The five-hour open meeting,
before a crowd of over 200
people, drew occasional applause
and cheers
and. at the
conclusion,
tears
and
exclamations of dismay.
"Teachers are absolutely the
last item that should be
eliminated in times of budget
crisis." commented Heppner
attorney Bill Kuhn in opposition
to the proposed teacher cuts.
"Instead, our administration is
recommending teachers be the
first, most significant and only
area where there is a substantial
amount of budget cutting. This is
not responsible planning for our
future.
This
is
not
a
compassionate approach. This
doesn’t make good common
sense from any perspective."
Kuhn and others suggested that
the board review the impact of
the proposed cuts before
implementation and give the
public time to comment. Kuhn
also suggested phasing in
recovery of a cash carryover loss
and incorporating as many
maintenance needs as possible in
proposed capital improvement
bond levies.
Kuhn asked that the board not
disproportionately impact the
education program of any
particular community.
Several others who commented
at the meeting, however, noted
that school revenues for the
current year show that Heppner
Elementary
and
Heppner
Junior/Senior High School spend
much more than they generate,
compared to Riverside High
School and Sam Boardman
Elementary which generate more
funds that they spend.
The amount each school
receives from the state is
dependent on the number of
students-the more students, the
more money.
According to district figures, for
the current 1999-2000 budget
Heppner Elementary will spend
over S642 thousand more than it
has generated; Heppner High
School, over S284 thousand more
than it has generated; Columbia
Middle School, over SI 82
thousand more than it has
generated; A.C. Houghton over
SI 14 thousand more; lone
Elementary, over S96 thousand
more; and lone High School,
over S77 thousand more; while
Riverside High School generated
over S22 thousand more than it
spent and Sam Boardman
generated over S42 thousand
more than it spent.
The cuts, announced earlier,
will eliminate 17 full-time
teaching positions in the school
district next year (4.3 from
Heppner Elementary; 3.5 from
Heppner Junior/Senior High
School; 2.3 from lone Schools;
two each from A.C. Houghton
Elementary in Irrigon. Riverside
High School and Sam Boardman
Elementary in Boardman; and
one new position from Columbia
Middle School in Irrigon.
Additional reductions would
include cutting funding for a
half-time superintendent, half-
time business manager, one and a
quarter time office assistants and
one and a halftime custodians)
The district is recommending
district-wide cuts in PE. art and
counseling positions at the
elementary level and vo-ag and
Spanish programs at the senior
high level.
Ihe additional cuts.
particularly in the '.mailer south-
end schools, also bring the
student teacher ratios closer
district-wide. Morrow ( ountv
School superintendent Bruce
Anderson said earlier that the
district cannot make the smaller
schools
equal
financially,
because smaller schools still
require a certain number of
teachers to operate, but added
that the district will strive to
make the schools more equitable
"We are spending more than
we’re generating," said Anderson
Monday night. He added that in
the past the district began
contracting out transportation
services, reorganized the food
service program, drastically cut
the co-curricular program, which
has been transferred to a special
district, consolidated Heppner
junior and senior high schools
and moved to a four-day week to
cut costs. "We’re at a spot now
w here we don't hav e a lot of that
stuff to do." he said.
Anderson said that around 80
percent of the budget is
personnel costs
According to information
released by the district Tuesday,
in 1998-99 the district spent ov er
$5.5 million for teachers' salaries
and an additional $1.7 million in
benefits. Over $6 million is
budgeted for teachers' salaries in
1999-2000 and over S2 million
for benefits.
For 1998-99. the district spent
over $700 thousand for the
business
manager
and
administrators' salaries (seven
principals, two vice principals,
superintendent.
assistant
superintendent)
and
an
additional S256 thousand for
benefits.
The 1999-2000 budget calls for
over $800 thousand for salaries
for
administrators
(seven
principals, three vice principals,
superintendent.
assistant
superintendent) and business
manager and an additional $31 1
thousand for benefits.
The
district's
Hispanic
community, which comprises
around 43 percent of the school
district's student population in
the north end was well
represented at Monday night's
meeting in opposition to the
teacher cuts.
(Hispanic students comprise 35
percent of the student population
at A.C. Houghton Elementary.
Irrigon; 41 percent at Columbia
Middle School, Irrigon; 59
percent at Sam Boardman
Elementary. Boardman. and 34
percent at Riverside High
School. Boardman),
"Most of us never come to
these meetings because we are
very hard working people." said
Guadalupe Colin. Boardman.
who said she was there
representing
the
Hispanic
community, speaking against the
proposed cuts. "We don't come
very often because we don't get
very involved in the Anglo
community, but when it comes to
our children . . ."
A majority of the board,
however, voted live to two in
favor of the cuts, maintaining
that the district would be around
a million over budget and
stressed that to go over budget
would not only be fiscally
irresponsible, but also illegal.
"It’s only prudent for us to
propose
a
budget
that's
balanced." said board member
Pat McNamee. Irrigon. "I don't
think we'd better spend more
money than that’s coming in."
John Rietmann. board member
from lone, concurred, saying.
"When next year rolls around and
we have growth in this
community, we'll have students
in this building (Sam Boardman
Elementary ) we won't see money
for until the next year"
Rietmann said he felt it was
better to make the cuts now to
allow teachers who are impacted
to seek employment elsewhere.
Board members repeatedly
stressed that they care about
children and did not want to have
to make the cuts, but saw no
other alterna'ive
The board earlier said Mat if
they received monies over and
above what they anticipate tor
next year, they hope to add back
teachers and programs.
In the board's first vote Monday
which proposed the $99 .000 in
cuts, board member Barney
I.indsay. Lexington, proposed an
amendment which would reduce
the cuts to $692.000 to retain
teaching staff.
Lindsay's amendment targeted
a dmi ni s t r a t i on
and
administration's use ot district
vehicles as areas to cut back.
Lindsay
proposed that the
budget committee meet with two
board members from the south
end of the county, two from the
north
end
and
advisory
committee members prior to
voting on the proposal. He also
proposed a change in the
wording of the original proposal
from "current programs" to
"district programs."
The amended resolution,
however, was defeated five to
two, with board chair Gary
Fredenckson. Boardman. and
board members, Dw ayne ( arroll.
Irrigon. John Rietmann. lone. Pat
McNamee. Irrigon. and Julie
Weikel. Boardman. rejecting the
proposal and Lindsay and Keith
Lewis. Heppner, voting in favor.
The same five members, in a
second vote, approved the
$992.000 in cuts with 1 mdsay
and I ew is voting nay
The board recommended that
citizens contact their legislators
to address the funding crisis.
They also recommended jo
Anderson that the district go to
the voters for a local option to
add $500.000 in taxes for five
years to the district budget. If the
local option passes, the district
could levy the difference
between the market value and
assessed value to help replace
some of the monies.
If the district sends the issue to
the voters in the May election the
local option must pass w ith a
double majority, meaning that 50
percent of the registered voters
must approve it. rather than a
majority of those voting
However, only a majority, not a
double majority is required for an
issue to pass in the November
election.
Anderson said that the funds m
a local option must be approved
before the fiscal year so that it
may be used in the 2000-2001
budget.
Museum seeks
members
The Morrow C ounty Museum
Commission, a volunteer policy
making board appointed by the
Morrow County Court, is seeking
two new members for three-year
terms.
The commission is the policy
making body for the Morrow
County
Museum
and
is
responsible for the oversight of
the Museum Trust fund and
museum development.
I he
commission regularly meets
ev ery two months and more often
as necessary.
The commission encourages
anyone, particularly anyone in
the Boardman Irrigon area who
has an interest in the overall
Morrow
County
Museum
operation and future, to contact
the Morrow County Court at
676-5620
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Lexington 989-8221 • 1-800-452-7396
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