School board says no to Heppner,
lone school consolidation
Bessie .¿e t a e l I
U of 0 We*3pa er -!■-
Eugeae, OR
VOL. 122
NO. 7
10 Pages
9/103
Wednesday, February 12, 2003
Morrow County, Heppner, Oregon
lone community to meet to
decide secession issue
I t ’s n o t j u s t a b o u t
co n so lid a tio n -it’s about self-
determination. Although Monday
night the Morrow County School
Board, by lack o f a m otion, let
stand an earlier decision against
consolidation o f H eppner and
lo n e S c h o o ls , th e lo n e
community is still going forward
with plans to w ithdraw from the
district. A m eeting to discuss
secession w as set for T uesday
night at 6:30 p.m. at the lone
School with organizers planning
to collect signatures on petitions
advocating withdrawal from the
district.
O r g a n iz e r
J e rr y
R ietm ann, lone, m aintains that
decisions about the lone School
should be m ade w ithin the lone
community and feels certain that
lone families will be better off with
their own school district. “We will
lose our town, if we don’t have a
school,” said R ietm ann, who
adds that a good school is crucial
to draw ing new’ business to the
area, especially a proposed new
w indmill project and retaining the
businesses already in existence.
“ W e h a d a c e r ta in
amount o f security— lone passes
levies,” said R ietm ann. They
always needed lone to pass their
City of Heppner receives new water
fountain
Craig Canham (left) and Roger Ehrmantraut work on installing a new
water fountain at the corner of Main and Willow in Heppner. The fountain
was donated to the city by the St. Patrick's Committee in memory of the
Irish settlers in Morrow County. The fountain will be dedicated St. Pat’s
weekend, Friday, March 14.
levy.” “We’re wanting to leave on
the basis that it doesn’t work any
m ore. M aybe we d o n ’t need a
county school district any more,
he added.” Prior to M easure 5,
voters in school districts passed
levies to provide operating funds
for schools and lone, with its high
voter turnout, consistently passed
school levies. Since the passage
o f M easu re 5 and o th e r tax
measures, schools are funded by
th e s ta te a n d fu n d in g is
determ ined through a com plex
formula factoring in the number
o f students attending the schools,
w ith a d d itio n a l m o n ie s fo r
E nglish-as-a-second language
s tu d e n ts , sp e c ia l e d u c a tio n
students, pregnant and parenting
students, small rural schools and
other factors.
Rietmann stresses that if
lone, w ith approxim ately 7.2
p e rc e n t o f M o rro w C o u n ty
s tu d e n ts , s e c e d e s fro m th e
district, only a proportionate
am ount o f funding will follow
them-approximately 7.3 percent
o f the M orrow County tax base.
As a part o f the M orrow County
S c h o o l D is tr ic t, lo n e a n d
H eppner schools have o f late
e n d u re d b a re - to - th e b o n e s
staffing and curriculum cuts,
following the district’s policy o f
“equity” in which schools operate
on approximately the amount o f
state funding they receive
The issue o f consolidation o f
Heppner and lone schools arose
a s a r e s u lt o f a H e p p n e r
com m unity m eeting to arrive at
solutions to the equity cuts, but
the H eppner com m unity now
says it does not recom m end
consolidation o f the two schools.
Rietm ann says that if the lone
community decides to w ithdraw,
lone schools would end up with
basically the same curriculum as
they have now.
Rietmann says that if lone
secedes from the district, the
school buildings will revert to the
new district, as will buildings
currently under construction.
School bonds will also continue
as previously, he says.
R ietm ann says that a
law yer has been retained and
consultants have been hired to
continued page 2
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T h e re w ill be no
consolidation for H eppner and
lone schools for the 2003-2004
year. M orrow County School
Board Chair Julie Weikel told a
crow d o f around 100 people,
mostly from lone, at the M CSD
Board meeting Monday night in
Boardm an. The board did not
entertain any m otions on the
consolidation issue for Heppner
and lone schools, thereby letting
stand an earlier resolution that
s a id th e b o a rd w o u ld n o t
consider consolidation, "at least
fo r n o w ” . A d e c is io n to
co n so lid a te had to be m ade
M o n d a y n ig h t in o r d e r to
im p le m e n t c h a n g e s fo r the
upcom ing year, so the issue is
m oot at least for a year.
A t th e m e e tin g , Jo e
M cElligott from lone and Mark
Rietm ann and Jay G ibbs from
Heppner presented reports from
their respective com m unities,
saying Heppner and lone accept
the "equity” cuts proposed by the
board and presented ways their
respective communities hope to
have the cuts implemented. The
b o ard ’s idea o f “equity” is that
each school’s expenditures be
restricted to the am ount o f state
funds it receives. Schools are
funded by the state in a complex
form ula, w hich includes the
num ber o f students who attend,
w ith a d d itio n a l m o n ie s for
English-as-a-second-language
s tu d e n ts , sp e c ia l e d u c a tio n
students, pregnant and parenting
students, small rural schools and
other factors.
During deliberations on
the consolidation issue, board
m e m b e r J o h n R e n fro w as
interrupted by an angry M ark
Rietm ann, m em ber and former
c h a ir o f H ep p n er-L ex in g to n
A d v iso ry C o m m itte e , w hen
R enfro said that the H eppner
com m unity had indicated they
w ere in favor o f consolidation.
Rietmann yelled, “The Heppner
community does not recommend
consolidation,” before being told
by W eikel that he was out o f
order. B oard m em b er Larry
M ills, Heppner, reiterated for
R ie tm a n n th a t th e H ep p n e r
com m unity was not in favor o f
consolidation and told the board
and audience that the b oard’s
earlier decision should stand. “As
far as I’m concerned, the issue is
settled. I personally d o n 't want
to revisit it,” said Mills.
B o ard m em b er G ary
Frederickson indicated that he
favored consolidation at least
temporarily because o f the more
varied curriculum offered by the
larger schools, even if it came to
s e n d in g lo n e s tu d e n ts to
H eppner or even to Riverside
High School. “ It’s very easy to
see the educational benefit for
students. As a board we have a
c h a rg e to lo o k at th e b e s t
educational opportunities for
students,” said Frederickson. “ I
think it's a tragedy that we can’t
haul those students to H eppner.
. .and if we need to, bus those
students to R iv erside.” That
s ta te m e n t p ro m p te d b o a rd
member John Rietmann to jum p
in the fray, saying that the lone
parents should be the ju d g e o f
what is best for their children and
sought self-determ ination for
communities facing the prospect
o f consolidation. “ The idea o f
w hat is best for the students is
th e is s u e ,” c o u n te re d Jo h n
Rietm ann, w ho added that now
the equity cuts have been made
in south county schools, “one
a re a is not d e tra c tin g from
another.” He said he felt that the
lo n e S c h o o l a f te r c u ts is
"operational” and suggested that
the schools “ operate w ith the
cuts, do the best you can and
wait for parents in the community
to m ake the decision.”
Board m em ber Burke
O 'B rien, Heppner, concurred in
letting the earlier decision stand.
b u t a d d e d th a t th e lo n e
community may “do just as well”
if they withdrew from the district.
“ 1 believe parents in lone are
intelligent enough to see if their
kids are suffering,” said O ’Brien,
to applause. W eikel and board
m em ber Pat M cN am ee did not
offer comments on the issue.
The lone co m m u n ity
planned a m eeting for Tuesday
night to determ ine w hether to
initiate procedures for the lone
S c h o o ls to seced e from the
Morrow County School District.
In other business, the
board:
-heard a report about the
I rr ig o n s c h o o l b u ild in g
groundw ater issue from Nan Hall
o f Heary International. Hall said
that $ 172,00 has been spent to
s o lv e
th e
p ro b le m
of
groundw ater at the Irrigon site
and she expects around another
$ 100,000 to be spent, out o f a
$404,000 budget.
-discussed coordinating
the bell schedule for lone High
School, H eppner High School
and Riverside High School so that
it would be easier to implement
V-tel classes among the schools.
Heppner and lone high schools
begin at 8 a.m., but R iverside
begins at 7:30 a.m. to coordinate
busing at RHS, Columbia Middle
S c h o o l a n d th e n o rth e n d
elementary schools. The issue will
be investigated further, along with
p o lic ie s a n d p r o c e d u r e s
c o n c e r n in g V -tel, d is ta n c e
learning, “cyberschools” (internet
classes) and who, the student or
the district, w ill pay for the
classes.
-discussed sale o f the
d i s t r i c t ’s L e a rn in g C e n te r
B uilding in Irrigon to Union-
B aker ESD , w hich provides
alternative school in that building.
The building has an assessed
valuation o f $320,000, but an
appraisal will be required before
a sale can take place.
-h eard
fro m
Superintendent Dr. Jack Crippen
on the state funding estimates for
2 0 0 3 - 0 4 , w h ic h a re n o t
encouraging.
- le a r n e d fro m Dr.
C rip p en that RHS Principal
D uane Yecha will becom e the
directo r o f program s, a new
p o sitio n . D irk D irk sen w ill
becom e the new RHS principal
and Bill DeBoard will continue
serv ing as vice-principal, dividing
his time between RHS and CMS.
The upcoming retirement o f Sam
Boardman Elementary Principal
S u san T o lar w ill leave one
administrative position open.
-heard a request from the
City o f Lexington to acquire the
MCSD Lexington District Office
Building to use as Lexington City
Hall, for office space, a park,
storage space and other uses and
declared the building as surplus
property.
-learned o f upcom ing
cuts and possible m ergers o f
ESDs due to budget restraints.
-d iscu ssed upcom ing
negotiations for certified and
administrativ e employees, w hose
contracts expire June 30 o f this
year, and classified employees,
whose contract expires J une 30,
2004.
-received tw o options
for the 2003-04 school calendar,
both o f w hich begin after Labor
Day. Option A calls for a Sept. 2
student start date, a tw o week
Christmas break from December
22-January 4, a M arch 22-26
sp rin g break and a June 10
student end date, w ith the lone
graduation on June 4, Heppner
g r a d u a tio n on Ju n e 5 a n d
Riverside graduation on June 6.
O ption B calls for a Sept. 2
student start date, a one-w eek-
plus C h ristm a s b reak from
D e c e m b e r 2 4 -Ja n u a ry 4, a
M arch 22-26 spring break and
a June 8 student end date, with
graduation dates the same.
-accepted resignations
from: Fred M onaco, from his
adv anced math teaching position
at HHS (the math position will be
tau g h t by Jean n ie C o llin s);
M a riz a F o n s e c a , from her
p o sitio n as Sam B oardm an
Elementary School English as a
second language ed assistant;
Alice Flanagan, from her position
as A.C. Houghton Elementary
School one-on-one special ed
assistant; Pedro Torres, RHS
head boys’ soccer coach.
-accepted retirem ents
from: Les Payne, HHS teacher;
Jo h n n a S h im p -Jo n e s, ACH
te a c h in g p o s itio n ; J o y c e
Gordanier, ACH head cook.
-approved employment
for Kelly McDaniel, SBE ESL ed
a s sis ta n t, re p la c in g M ariza
Fonseca.
-a p p r o v e d
in te rim
agreem ents from: Les Payne to
finish the 2002-03 school year
from M arch 1-June 13; from
Johnna Shimp-Jones to finish the
2002-03 year from January 6-
June 13; from Joyce Gordanier
to finish the 2002-03 school year.
-learned from Heppner
Schools Principal Wade Smith
that the H eppner Elem entary
Knowledge Master team finished
second out o f elementary schools
in the state and 69,h out o f more
than 300 schools com peting
nation-wide.
- a c c e p te d a $ 2 5 0
d o n a tio n from the B ank o f
E astern O regon to the Sam
Boardm an Elem entary School
Accelerated Reader program.
-h eard the fo llow ing
announcem ents: policy rewrite
and re v is io n w o rk sh o p s at
Riverside High School at 1 p.m.,
Feb. 12, 8 a.m ., Feb. 13 and, if
necessary, through V-tel at 8:30
a.m ., on Feb. 19; next board
m eeting, M onday, M arch 10,
lone School, 7:30 p.m.; deadline
for filing for elected positions,
M arch 20.
Les Schwab has new manager
K e ith H e rb is o n h a s
ta k e n o v e r th e p o s itio n o f
m anager at the Les Schw ab in
H eppner, as form er m anager
Glenn Bridgmon and family was
transferred to the Tri-Cities.
Herbison, 39, com es to
Heppner from Springfield where
he has lived for the last six years,
w ith w ife Rica and children
Brittney, 15 and Brock, 11. Rica,
Brittney and Brock will move to
H eppner after the school year
has finished. Herbison has also
w orked w ith Les S chw ab in
LaGrande.
Before getting involved
w ith the Les Schw ab business,
Herbison worked for 11 years in
the logging industry helping to run
a tw o -m a n , o w n e r/o p e ra to r
business.
Rica
w orks with
t
h
e
Springfield
School
D is tric t in
t h e i r
insurance
department.
Brittney is a
high school
freshman
Keith Herbison
a c t i v e in
cheerleading and volleyball.
Brock is a sixth grader and enjoys
baseball and BMX tiding.
H e r b i s o n , w h o wa s
raised in Baker, enjoys hunting
and fishing and loves being able
to come back closer to the area.
“ It's like c omi ng hom e,” he
commented.
You Are Invited To Attend Our
CUSTOMER APPRECIATION PAY
Saturday, February 1 Sth
Polaris Factory Reps will be there!
Morrow County Grain Growers
Lexington 9 8 9 -8 2 2 1 • 1 -8 0 0 -4 5 2 -7 3 9 6
f *
m* ******* n
men