Image provided by: Morrow County Museum; Heppner, OR
About Heppner gazette-times. (Heppner, Or.) 1925-current | View Entire Issue (April 12, 2000)
Ione pool funding discussed 11 E e n 0 !<s K 'e w s p U of 0 1 ¿u ?» no . 03 « VOL. 119 NO. 15 IQPages Wednesday, April 12,2000________ Morrow County, Heppner, Oregon Volunteers enhance the community The Morrow County School up a drive to promote passage of Board Monday night discussed a the school district's local option plan to transfer operation of the levy which would provide funds lone School swimming pool to to rehire 10 teachers whose jobs the Willow Creek Park District. were lost when the school The school district, facing a district cut staff to balance the budget shortfall, proposes that budget. WCPD "take over the cost of -heard a report from assistant operating the lone Pool in the superintendent Mike Keown same type of agreement that the concerning the "School Master” Morrow County Recreation program. The School Master district funds the extracurricular program would replace the activities in the county." current program for student When the school district faced services, OTIS, which has an earlier shortfall and proposed announced that it is going out of cutting extracurricular activités business. from the budget, voters approved Student services programs tax monies for the Morrow include data on grades, County Unified Recreation transcripts, immunization records District to fund extracurricular and test scores. activities such as sports, band With the new program, the and other community activities. district could utilize CD Roms The school board wants the supplied by school photography park district to take over funding companies, which contain for the pool, which has a 1999- student photos. The photos could 2000 budget of $18,967, be downloaded into the school beginning July 1 of this year, system and matched with the with the school district student records for administrative furnishing personnel, equipment, files. materials and facilities for pool Another feature of the new operation. system, which could be added The park district, however, has later for an additional cost, is an already gone through the automated calling system. With budgeting process for the the new School Master program upcoming year and has no funds and the upgrade, if a child is absent from a class period or & for additional expenditures. Kim Cutsforth, a member of day, the automated system would the Willow Creek Park Board of call parents to inform them of Directors, says that the park the child's absence. Keown said district has already committed that this feature would be used for the 2000-2001 year and will primarily in the secondary have no funds until the following schools. year when it will make its last -approved resignations for: payment of around $18,000 to Carol Wilson, Sam Boardman pay off a short term loan for Elementary School kindergarten- construction overruns on the first grade teacher; Pat Quansa, Willow Creek Water Park in Riverside High School Title I Heppner. assistant; and Kari Keown, While the park district levies Heppner High School around $74,000 a year, it also cheerleader advisor. operates an RV park and a day -approved employment for: park at Willow Creek Lake in Helen Bliss, A.C. Houghton addition to the Willow Creek Elementary assistant cook, Water Park. Cutsforth said that in the future, the park district expects to have more money to be able to fund projects in other Morrow County School District communities. has proposed a $21,823,080 In addition to paying off the - biidgeTTor th'e 2000-2001 year. park district's short term loan, the The budget includes $ 16,213,418 district anticipates dramatically in the general fund. reducing its outgo for heating School Superintendent Bruce costs at the Willow Creek Pool. Anderson, in his budget message A pool cover to arrive in May, April 3, said that the budget was purchased with SCERT tippage guided by district priorities to fees, is expected to reduce maintain favorable class sizes, heating costs by $4,000-$5,000 a move toward equity in the month. distribution of resources, help "We all agree we want to do more students meet CIM something for all the standards and stay within the communities," said Cutsforth. budget, as mandated by the state. "We wish we had $24,000- However, Anderson stressed 74,000. but the 74,000 is that the district "should move completely used up. We can't do carefully in this shift of resources anything this year. We're broke." to avoid creating another group The school district proposal to of underserved students. Criteria Willow Creek Park District other than class size and specifies that starting July 1 of expenditures per student must be this year, the remainer of the considered so that all students in swim season will be funded the county have access to quality through a "cooperative effort of educational programs" the park district and the school Financial policies included district," in addition to around plans to discontinue the transfer $4,600 from an lone community of funds from the general fund to fund. co-curricular activities and funds In the school district's proposal, to provide flexibility to add the school district seeks "a sum additional staff in Boardman and not less that $15,000 for the Imgon should enrollment there 2001-2002 budget years" from increase. the park district for pool The budget also included operation. In subsequent years, "place savers" to add additional the proposal seeks payment to funds in the amount of around school district from the park $500,000, should the local option district "commensurate with the levy pass to hire back teachers amount the school district has who were cut following the expended for the lone Swimming budget shortfall. Pool upon receipt of a bill of The resources for the actual expenses." upcoming year are $322,280 less John Rietmann, school board that the current year, after member, said at the meeting adjusting for the local option due Monday that he attended a to a reduction in the ending fund meeting of lone community balance and lower than expected members where the topic of state revenues. "litigation" arose, since lone If the local option passes or the taxpayers contribute to the park district receives more money district and some do not feel they from the state due to increased receive benefits from the park e n r o ll m e n t , An de rs on district. recommends that the money be Many people from lone carried over to the 2001-2002 initially opposed lone's inclusion budget. in the park district and several The school district estimates an petitioned to be excluded from ending fund balance of $800,000 the district. this year. The unappropriated According to Cutsforth, the ending fund ($358,957) and park district paid around $14,000 contingency allocated for in legal fees to fight petitions to unforseen events ($300,000) separate from the district. predicts an ending balance of Cutsforth added that $10,000 was $658,957 which is around given to the city of lone for $250,000 short of cash flow remodeling the lone City Park needs for the 2001-2002 school and stage for performances. year. In other business, the school The proposed budget estimates board: an increase of around 41 -heard a report from Kathy students. Neal, Boardman, who is heading The 2000-2001 budget is replacing Joyce Gordamer; Deanna Hamilton, ACH ed assistant, replacing Eleanor Parker; Michelle Duncan-Luna, temporary part-time one-on-one special ed assistant for a position as an aide with a new special needs student; Linda Neumann, # temporary part-time special ed assistant for a new specai needs student; Paula Post, Columbia Middle School temporary full time one-on-one special ed assistant, for position as an aide for a special needs student; Carmen, SBE English as a Second Language ed assistant. . -approved extra duty contracts for: Jason Just, Heppner Junior High assistant track coach; Rick Johnston, HHS assistant baseball coach: Lindsay Harle, HHS assistant softball coach; and Ryan Rudolf, lone Middle School assistant track coach. -approved a promotion for Kevin Toms, from RHS assistant custodian to head custodian, replacing Paul Gisi. -approved a calendar change to bring Morrow County Schools' spring break into line with state colleges and universities. Spring break for the year 2001 will now be held the last week in March, from March 26-30. -approved the 1999-2000 list of classified and confidential employees. Seme employees, however, may not be rehired due to budget constraints. -heard the following announcements: April 17-second budget meeting at Riverside High School, 7:30 p.m.; April 18- Oregon School Boards Association spring conference at Pendleton Red Lion; April 19- Facilities meeting, Heppner Elementary School gym, 7:30 p.m.; April 24-third budget meeting, lone Schools, 7:30 p.m.; May 8-next board meeting, district office, 7:30 p.m. $22.8 million budget proposed Volunteers with the Neighborhood Enhancement Team work on a sidewalk project Saturday, April 8, in Heppner. The program, which is sponsored by the city of Heppner, allows volunteers to work on projects to beautify and enhance the community, according to city manager Jerry Breazeale. In the program, the city provides worker's comp insurance and liability insurance and furnishes needed equipment. The first project underway was sidewalk construction in front of the Notson House in Heppner. Property owners are responsible for the projects and must pay for the costs of materials, said Breazeale. Call city hall, 676-9618, to volunteer to join the team or to be put on the sidewalk replacement project list. We Have What You Need For SPRING GARDENING S e e d s • Law n & G arden Tools M orrow L e x in g t o n 9 8 9 -8 2 2 1 C ounty G • 1 -8 0 0 -4 5 2 -7 3 9 6 r a in G row ers for l»rm equipment mil our w*b jit* at www.mcgg.iwt I approximately 80 percent salaries and benefits, compared to 81 percent the previous year. Salaries and benefits will decrease $191,376 unless the local option does not pass; in that event salaries and benefits will be reduced $691,376. The upcoming year's buget calls for: -inclusion of $250,000 in operating contingency to allow addition of teaching positions to equalize class size due to an increase in student population. -addition of $500,000 in local option expenditures for 10 teaching positions. -$100,000 to contract with Union-Baker ESD for alternative education. -$25,000 for assessment and additional contracted services for handicapping conditions, -addition of one teacher and 3.5 aides to accommodate growing student population at all levels in Boardman and Imgon. -re-allocation of $25,590 for summer school to improve student performance in math and reading at the elementary and middle school levels. The funds were previously budgeted for Benchmark Booster Days, -addition of $24,500 for student accounting services for a new student accounting program. The funds will be reimbursed by ESD. -inclusion of $31,000 for special ed transportation, because of increased activity in the service, which is mandated. The money is reimbursed at a rate of 70 percent of cost. -inclusion of $34,450 for building improvement, of which $30,000 is for the completion of the remodeling project of Heppner Elementary office space. Funds for this project will be transferred fom the old bond levy account, which will be closed upon completion of the project. Co-cumcular activities will be reduced by $24,806 with a "real reduction of approximately $68,000 in programs." Major program reductions include golf, cheerleading, middle school track, C-team basketball, FFA and "severe reductions in supplies and equipment." No general fund dollars will be allocated to this fund as in the oast
