UMATILLA COUNTY
A11 • HERMISTONHERALD.COM
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 8, 2022
School struggles with tough decisions
Blue Mountain
Community College
Board approves
budget, faculty
layoffs
BY JOHN TILLMAN
Hermiston Herald
The Blue Mountain Com-
munity College Board of Ed-
ucation has approved the ad-
ministration’s retrenchment
plan, laying off five full-time
faculty members.
The board voted on the plan
Monday night, June 6, in a spe-
cial meeting.
The college laid off the in-
structors in business, crimi-
nal justice, English, music and
chemistry, according to Blue
Mountain Faculty Association
President Sascha McKeon.
The board also passed ad-
justments to its current budget
and changes to the proposed
2022-23 budget, then adopted
the new budget. Board mem-
ber Kim Puzey of Hermiston
voted against adoption. All
other agenda items passed
unanimously.
Six board members attended
in person and Bill Markgraf of
Baker City remotely.
The board had met in execu-
tive session at 5 p.m. to conduct
deliberations with the college’s
labor negotiations team.
FACULTY UNION NEGOTIATORS,
ADMINISTRATION MET JUNE 3
BMCC administration met
with the faculty union team for
a final time June 3 to negotiate
layoffs in the new budget.
“The meeting was short and
not unexpected,” BMCC Presi-
dent Mark Browning said. “The
union did not bring any new
ideas. They just wanted to know
who is on the layoff list.”
But it’s not the role of the
union to notify employees, he
said, but rather the college’s be-
cause it’s the employer.
Layoff notices go out June 7,
Browning noted.
“We need to move forward,”
Browning concluded, “and ad-
Kathy Aney/Hermiston Herald
Marie Ekin, former middle school teacher and Blue Mountain Community College tutor, talks to BMCC board
members about character during the public comment portion of a meeting Monday, June 6, 2022, before
the board approved a retrenchment plan that laid off five faculty members.
dress student needs. It’s time to
wrap this up.”
McKeon regarded the meet-
ing as an implementation ses-
sion.
“We came to the table for a
polite conversation on options
to save jobs,” she said. “The ad-
ministration didn’t act on them
back when there was time.”
Faculty at risk of losing their
jobs would have liked a timeline
of what to expect, biology in-
structor McKeon added.
“The administration gave
us reason after reason for not
taking our suggestions to save
money elsewhere, without pro-
viding any ideas themselves,”
she continued. “We tried to
maintain a relationship. We
could have had three days of
turnaround, but the administra-
tion said there were lots of mov-
ing parts.”
The union’s collective bar-
gaining agreement with the
college requires meetings to
discuss alternatives, but also
for implementation, McKeon
explained. No implementation
meeting had been held, so the
June 3 session satisfied that con-
tract requirement.
And the $627,000 Amazon
gift out of Morrow County
won’t help much, McKeon said.
With the board’s approval of
the budget, she said the faculty
association could file griev-
ances.
“It’s frustrating to do good
faith bargaining when we
don’t have the full picture,” she
said. “For whatever reason,
the administration couldn’t
or wouldn’t share their plans
with us.”
COLLEGE SAYS AMAZON MONEY
SAVED TEACHER JOBS
Most of the 11 speakers
during the 30 minute public
comment period June 6 were
full or part time Blue Mountain
faculty members.
“It’s time to grow the col-
lege, not cut it,” math and
computer science instructor
Gary Parker said.
McKeon was the final
speaker. She noted other
schools dedicate 40% of their
budgets to full-time instruc-
tion, but BMCC administration
thinks 12% is sufficient.
“Our greatest asset is
high-quality instructors who
have honed their craft here,”
she said, “which makes them
uniquely suited to serve our
students’ needs.”
Board Chair Don Rice of
Hermiston recognized Brown-
ing after the public comment
period.
“This has been a journey and
process no one has enjoyed,”
Browning said. “Reducing fac-
ulty is not something anyone
wanted to do. But we have to
face economic reality. We have
significantly lower enrollment,
and a fiduciary responsibility
to craft a budget that reflects
that fact.”
Browning explained why in-
creased expenses in some line
items were justified, and why
other apparent hikes were just
warranted accounting changes.
For instance, even before $5
gas, the administration knew
travel expenses would increase,
as athletic teams would travel
more than during the pan-
demic years.
“We started with a $2 million
hole,” he added, “of which $1.3
million was faculty. It’s difficult
to overcome. We need to offer
students what they need. The
world is changing. We need to
change with it.”
Browning stated the Amazon
gift in lieu of Morrow County
property taxes helped to re-
duce proposed layoffs from 10
to five.
PUZEY CALLS FOR SELLING
COLLEGE PROPERTY, MORE
Rice asked for comments
from fellow board members.
Chris Brown of Heppner re-
sponded to comments from
some speakers.
“This proposed budget was
not drafted in isolation,” he
said. “The budget committee
met three times, rather than
the usual once, and with citizen
and faculty involvement. It was
forthright fact-seeking. I believe
that our students are our great-
est resource.”
Puzey noted actual cuts
don’t have to go through un-
til 120 days after notifications.
He suggested selling or leasing
buildings, seeking scholarships
from business partners, county
governments and the ports of
Umatilla and Morrow. He also
urged faculty members to lever-
age the channels to the commu-
nity that they’ve developed to
help increase enrollment.
“I’m hopeful it’s not over yet,”
he said.
Kent Madison of Echo
stressed the importance of out-
reach to high school juniors
and seniors, who might not
even know that their parents
taxes support the college.
“BMCC is not for profit,” he
said. “The layoffs aren’t to pro-
vide dividends to shareholders.
We just don’t have the money.
Enrollment has dropped 65% in
10 years.”
Vice Chair Jane Hill of Pend-
leton also held out hope that
more money could be found
and enrollment increased be-
fore classes start in September.
“Every faculty member is im-
portant,” she said. “I hope we
can all come to the same table.”
Hill noted that adjustments
up to 10% can be made to an
adopted budget. She asked
Browning if the faculty cuts
would fit under that share. He
said they would.
“At least having the names
will help with our grievance
cases,” McKeon said in the hall
outside the conference room af-
ter the meeting.
She lamented the revised fall
schedule and need to notify stu-
dents who signed up for classes,
which now may have to be can-
celled.
“Now there is more pressure
on teachers,” she concluded, “if
we’re going to be recruiters as
well, and fill in until the mar-
keter in the budget is hired.”
ODFW
confirms
Umatilla
County
wolf
attack
Hermiston Herald
Wolves with the Ukiah
Pack killed two sheep in late
May on private land in Coy-
ote Canyon, a ravine tributary
to McKay Creek, the Ore-
gon Department of Fish and
Wildlife reported.
A sheepherder found a
dead 180-pound ewe and
70-pound lamb in a 5,000-
acre pasture about 1 mile
from his camp on May 30.
The sheep had bedded down
for the night in the private
pasture.
The ewe had been mostly
consumed, while the lamb
was entirely intact. ODFW
estimated both sheep died
no earlier than the evening
of May 29 or the morning of
May 30.
ODFW personnel shaved,
skinned and examined the
carcasses. Both sheep suffered
multiple bite punctures and
pre-mortem hemorrhaging,
indicating a predator attack.
The ewe had pre-mortem
tooth punctures up to 5/16-
inch diameter on the neck,
with pre-mortem hemorrhag-
ing in the remaining muscle
tissue, according to the state
wildlife department report.
The lamb had numer-
ous ¼-inch pre-mortem bite
punctures and multiple tears
in the hide on the neck, throat
and left hindquarter above
the hock. Trauma to the neck
penetrated to the bone on
both sides and dislocated the
neck. Pre-mortem hemor-
rhage on the left hindquarter
was up to 1.5 inches deep.
According to Oregon De-
partment of Fish and Wild-
life, the severity and location
of injuries to the sheep are
consistent with wolf attacks.
Community
Memorial
Service
& BUTTERFLY RELEASE
To celebrate our loved ones
and how life is transformed.
BROUGH T TO YOU BY VANGE J OHN ME MO R IA L HOSPICE
Event Details:
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Bring your family. Children welcome!
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refreshments for purchase
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Look for event table when you arrive.
Saturday, June 18, 2022
3:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Victory Square Park
150 SW 10th Street | Hermiston, OR 97838
Entertainment by Brass Fire Band!
Each Attendee will receive
(while supplies last):
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Origami Butterfly
For more information, call Carollyn Robinson,
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Butterfly-Friendly Flower Seeds to Plant at Home
Butterfly Fact Sheet
For an additional fee, pre-registrants may receive
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