School superintendent doesn’t expect new schools in Boardman,
averages around 15.23 students
Irrigon to open on schedule
Bessie ietxell
U oi J N e * 3 p a >3:' Ltorary
Eugene,
Oft
9/4J3
HEPPNER
unes
VOL. 121
NO. 42
8 Pages
Wednesday, October 16, 2002
Morrow County, Heppner, Oregon
Morrow County School
Superintendent Dr. Jack Crippen
told the school board Monday
night that he doesn't believe the
district can open the two new
elem entary schools in north
Morrow County on schedule-
because of lack of money for
staffing and students to fill the
schools. The schools, one in
Irrigon and one in Boardman, both
still under construction, were
scheduled to open for students
next fall. Crippen said that
financial woes on the state level,
resulting in less state money to
the district, and a struggling
Oregon economy, resulting in
fewer families moving to the area,
contributed to the d is tric t’s
situation. Fewer students means
less state money for the district
schools. He said that he
anticipates cuts in the district’s
budget and consequently, cuts in
staffing. He added, however, that
he expected the population in the
north end o f the county to
increase in the future so that the
new schools would be required.
Dr. Crippen presented
three scenarios to assist the board
in making possible cuts, none of
which bodes well for Morrow
County Schools.
One scenario uses
average daily attendance,
weighted by other factors such as
the number of English as a second
language students, special
education students, pregnant and
parenting students, the number of
students in poverty and the small
schools factor. In this scenario,
based on the 2001 -02 budget w ith
the district receiving $4,870.05 (a
projected figure) per student, only
Columbia Middle School, Sam
Boardm an Elem entary, and
Heppner Middle School took in
more money than they spent.
Based on weighted average daily
attendance. CMS brought in
$269,915 more than its
expenditures; SBE brought in
$261.842 more; and HMS brought
in $15,296. Heppner Elementary
School spent $634,512 more than
its income; Heppner High School
spent $441,379 more than it
brought in; lone Elementary
School spent $287,786 more;
Riverside High School, $ 171,086
more; lone High School, $ 121,930
more; lone M iddle School,
$52,185 more; and A.C.
Houghton, $19,076 more. The
alternative school was under
budget w ith $ 186,180 to the black.
If the district received $3,598.17
per student, for example, SBE and
CMS were the only schools in the
black, and HES, HHS and RHS
were the highest spenders over
their projected income. The actual
amount the district receives per
student from the state has not yet
been determined.
A second scenario uses
class size per teacher to help the
board determine where cuts could
be made. In this scenario the
schools with the lower student/
teacher ratios would presumably
suffer more teacher cuts than
schools with higher student/
teacher ratios.
In this scenario:
-lone
M iddle/High
School, grades six-12, has the
lowest student/teacher ratio, with
around 12.58 students per
teacher;
-Heppner Junior High/
High School, grades seven-12,
Nature Conservancy holds tour Juniper Canyon Roads get major overhaul
photo by Katie Wall
Heppner and lone community members (front l-r): Bob and Sharon Harrison;
(back l-r): Loyal Burns, Jim Swanson, Burke O 'B rien, Claudia Hughes
and Tom Wolff look on as Conserv ancy representatives Leslie Nelson and
Steve Buttrick show map of local juniper and sage brush area.
By Katie Wall
Saving the Washington
ground squirrel is not the only
reason the Nature Conservancy
has leased, and hopes to purchase,
23,000 acres from 3 Mile Canyon
Farms. They are also looking to
save the habitats o f the
ferruginous hawk, Swainson’s
hawk, and Northern brown owl.
The Conservancy is also looking
to protect and nourish the native
habitats of local shrubs, such as
blue bunch wheat grass,
sagebrush, and junipers.
Leslie Nelson and Steve
B uttrick, with the Nature
Conservancy, guided eight people
from the Heppner and lone areas
on a tour o f parts o f the
Boardman Conservation Area.
Nelson and Buttrick explained
that the W ashington ground
squirrel had been listed as a state
endangered animal and that the
federal government was looking
at making the squirrel a federally
endangered anim al. Nelson
explained a federal listing could
greatly affect the local farmers.
Another concern of the
conservancy is weed control.
Yellow star thistle is one of the
weeds that has caused the most
problems in the conservation area.
O ver 3000 acres o f land is
covered in yellow star thistle.
Nelson informed that about 15,000
paid hours and 10,000 volunteer
hours have been put into
controlling the weeds. The
Conservancy prefers to hand pull
the weeds, but for large growth
areas is beginning to use localized
chemical spray s. In place of the
star thistle, the Conservancy
would like to see blue bunch
wheat grass and other native
grass growing.
One o f the shrub
concerns for the Conservancy is
to see an increase of the juniper
population. As of now, only a
narrow rim of junipers exist in the
conservation area. The juniper
plays an important part in that it
is the tree that ferruginous hawks
prefer to nest in, but it cannot be
any juniper. The hawk prefers
mature open crown junipers.
The land in the
conservation area is also
currently being used as grazing
lands. The current grazing lease
ends in 2005. N elson also
explained that due to the
Conserv ancy only having a lease
on the land they cannot allow
hunting or unguided tours. The
Conserv ancy is looking to change
some o f this once the land is
purchased.
A nother interesting
factor of the conservation area is
that seven miles of the Oregon
Trail runs through
the
conservation area and meets up
with the five-mile stretch through
the bombing range.
Buttrick explained that he
would like to see the Conserv ation
area be some small preservation
areas surrounded by the larger
conservation area. Preserve was
defined as non-use of an area,
w ith conserv e defined as wise use
of an area.
The Conservancy has
many projects they would like to
see completed in the area and is
hoping to create an area that is
enjoyed by the anim als and
shrubs, as well as people.
A rock crusher is framed bv one of the 10-ft culverts going in on the Juniper Can von Road project
*
Juniper Canyon Road, which
runs between lone and Bombing
Range Road, is getting a major
overhaul and the work is being
done by the county road crew,
which according to road boss
Burke O ’Brien “are doing a heck
of a good job”.
The road crew, which normally
does maintenance work around
the county, has been doing major
construction work on Juniper
Canyon since the first part of
August. Juniper Canyon has been
closed off with detours around the
construction since that time.
C onstruction is expected to
continue until May when the
$800,000 project is expected to be
completed.
Although 3.8 miles of the road
is being completely redone, the
biggest part of the project is
taking out a bad comer in the
road, or as O ’Brien calls it a
“ length restrictin g curve.”
“Semis and other trucks were
having a hard time getting around
that curve,” O'Brien said. He
added that it will make the road
safer and easier to use when
completed.
“From a maintenance crew to
a construction crew they have
done a heck of a good job,” he
said of the road crew. They are
also learning new skills while
doing such a large job. “A lot of
the guys are learning how to
operate other types of equipment
ALL NEWS AND ADVERTISEMENT DEADLINE:
MONDAYS AT 5:00 P.M.
(left -right) Bob Nairns. assist, public works director, along with engineer
Doug Ferguson of Ferguson Engineering. Tom Carman of ODOT and
Public Works Director Burke O'Brien.
than they normally would.” said
Bob N airns o f the road
departm ent as a large earth
moving scrapper sails past a group
touring the construction site.
Some of the particulars of the
job include about 50 percent of the
earthwork done w ith 40,000 yards
of material moved so far. About
10,000 yards of riprap will be
used by the time the project is
completed. There w ill also be two
120-foot long 10-foot diameter
culverts laid to handle the water
coming through the canyon.
Ferguson Engineering is handling
the engineering work on the
project.
Out of the total cost o f the
project the state is paying
$500,000 and the county is pay ing
the other $300,000. “The county
saved four to five hundred
thousand dollars by doing the
construction ourselves,” O'Brien
pointed out.
per teacher;
-Sam
Boardman
Elem entary, grades K -five,
averages 20.48 students per
classroom teacher, but with
additional specialists such as
English as a second language,
music, special education. Title I
and reading teachers, the ratio is
down to around 15.7;
* -lone Elementary , grades
K-five. averages 16.5 students
per teacher;
-Riverside High School,
grades nine-12, averages around
18.3 students per teacher, but this
includes students enrolled in
alternative school and work
experience;
-A.C.
Houghton
Elem entary, grades K-five,
averages 21.3 students per
classroom teacher, but with
special education, English as a
second language. Title I, reading,
special education and music-
teachers, the ratio is around 17
students per teacher;
-Heppner Elementary,
grades K-six, averages 21.9
students per classroom teacher,
but with music, reading and
special education teachers, the
ratio is around 19 students per
teacher;
-Colum bia
M iddle
School, grades six-eight, averages
around 21.1 students per teacher.
Current
enrollm ent
figures as o f Oct. 1 show a
surprising loss of students in the
north end schools and a slight gain
in the south end schools over last
year’s figures. Sam Boardman
Elementary, with 471 students,
has lost 22 students from October
1 of last year; A.C. Houghton,
with 402 students, has lost 10
students from last year; lone is
holding steady at 158 students;
Heppner High School, with 194
students, and Columbia Middle
School, with 386 students, have
each gained three students over
last year; and Heppner
Elementary School, with 220
students, has gained seven
students from last year.
The third scenario uses
the Quality Education Model 2000
to determine staffing levels. In
this scenario, w hich compares the
number of sta ff to a model
classroom, which calls for no
more than 20 students per teacher
for K-third grade and a maximum
of 29 students per teacher for
other classes. In this scenario:
ACH. with 23 licensed teachers
as of June 2002. would increase
to 27.91 teachers, w hich would be
reduced to 22.33 if adjusted to
state financing; HES, with 10.5
teachers as o f June, would be
increased to 10.73, compared to
the model, but this would be
reduced to 8.59 if adjusted to
state financing; lone Elementary ,
with 4.25 teachers, would have
3.82 with the prototype and 3.06
adjusted to state financing; SBE,
with 29.5 teachers, would have
33.87 w ith the prototype and 27.10
adjusted to state financing.
G rades K-five elem entary
schools, with 67.25 teachers
district wide, would see an
increase of employees to 76.34
according to the model, but this
would be reduced to 61.07 when
adjusted to state financing.
Grades six-eight middle schools,
with 33.91 teachers, would see a
reduction to 29.88 teachers
according to the model, which
would then be reduced to 23.9
adjusted to state financing.
Grades nine-12 high schools, w ith
43.59 teachers, would be reduced
to 32.61 according to the
prototype, and reduced further to
26.04 when adjusted to state
financing.
The school board will
determine which model, if any. to
use for making the cuts.
Heppner Clinic to be open
The H eppner Clinic
provided by the Health
Department, w ill be open Oct. 24.
until 7 p.m. for flu and regular
immunizations.
The clinic is located about
Heppner Hardware.
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