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About Medford mail tribune. (Medford, Or.) 1909-1989 | View Entire Issue (July 28, 1960)
THURSDAY, JULY 21, 10 MEDFORD MAIL TRIBUNE, MEDFORD. ORE. Phoenix Board Protests Group's Action; Residents Express Views Statement by Area Residents Defends Basis for Request Editor'i not: Tht follow lowing statement was sub mitted by Medford Lawyer Frank Van Dyke in behalf of the residents he repre sents in the Phoenix school district who have requested to be transferred into the Medford district. The statement was sub mitted after the Mail Trib une offered space in which residents of the area could present their views in a re ply to the Phoenix school board's letter. Van Dyke represents those residents. School district reorganiza tion on the state level is not involved in this controversy. This problem, very properly, is strictly a local matter which should be resolved in Jackson county, and Oregon law so provides. When the Jackson county reorganization committee found that the boundary change was desirable, as it did by a vote of 4 to 2, and that it did not conflict with any contemplated reorganization, the issue of a boundary change was placed before the county boundary board. This board, es its name implies, has al ways decided boundary changes under, Oregon pro cedure. The right of Phoenix to pro Po1- WWR ft eD LrAi-tiLr ry fmm -"sft n Slronger, softer wrapper J ;v I t l . I that lefs you see the u ?'' goodness inside- : i f feS: ' ( f'-'f- that's guaranteed to r 1 J" keep HOLSUM flavorful WLAk J V J fr:sh 3 days , qA rf longer KLS H0UUM rr)5 f) l FLAV0RCUPS R V y r J Mhl 'Ts Vsf"CjT ' ' ' "ny P0''"' 'n "very He I j ' m W W 4 wJ m I Im I holdi Holium'i deep, rich flavor. I II V V V y I They're the roatan you can taste test is unquestioned; but it is interesting to note that so far as the record indicates, Phoe nix had not found the Jackson county reorganization com mittee unrepresentative, self ish or political prior to this final decision, although nu merous other questions have been determined by the coun ty reorganization committee affecting Phoenix. Object to Statement We strongly object to the statement in the letter of School District No. 4 that "the transfer of this area is quite obviously engineered by Medford real estate inter ests, . . ." Anyone attending the hear ing of July 20, 1960, must concede the housewives, par ents, and property owners in the area affected were the ones making and presenting the request for change. Members of the Jackson county reorganization coin- mittee are public spirited citizens whose integrity and fairmindedness have not pre viously been questioned. These members serve without pay, only two of the members reside within the city limits of Medford, and their con sidered judgment in this mat ter certainly does not reflect selfishness, immaturity and lack of care." MOIL: From the letter it is appar ent that the greater wealth is located in the center of the valley, and It appea.'s to les sen as one goes south into the Talent area. Decline To Join Phoenix voters declined to join the Medford district and chose to associate with the Talent area, resulting in an increased tax burden for them. This indicates their voluntary desire to retain their status as a basically rural district. Such is thoir privilege. Conversely, under the American democratic system, Medford people who have ex pressed so uniformly their desire to participate in the educational, recreational, cul tural and religious life of Medford are entitled to do so. Fire protection, police pro tection, street protection and sewer services of Medford are available to these people. Certainly it is not less im portant that their children should huve Medford educa tional advantages. The problems of growth and development pointed up by the Phoenix school board are unfortunately a part of the economic facts of life. Urban problems should be re solved by the urban com munity with which they are affiliated, as would be the case when the boundary change is made in this in stance. The Phoenix district, as a rural unit, will continue on a sound economic basis after the change is made. Geographically Located The Rogue Valley Manor is geographically located within the area involved, and was so placed because of Medford facilities available to it. Med ford capital and Medford In teresls have planned, develop ed and brought lo realization the Rogue Valley Manor proj ect. It is an urban develop ment, and not a part of the rural area with which Phoe nix has identified itself. The letter suggests that if the change is denied there would be a more efficient use of public funds. As a matter of fact, Medford's Hoover school is within easy walking distance of the whole area in volved in the change. Med ford's new junior high school site is also within easy walk ing distance. Construction at this time of any other public school structures in this area would be a wasteful expenditure of public funds and an unneces sary duplication of school facilities. Other Medford school facili ties are less than half the dis tance required to reach Phoe nix's nearest facilities. The distance to Talent is four times that required to reach the most distant Medford schools. Obviously, transpor tation costs to Phoenix are greater. Option For Land Phoenix writes of spending $1,000 on an option for a site for school facilities in the area involved. The Phoenix school board bulletin of March, I960, indicates on page 15 "The budget was discussed item by item. Motion made by Mr Harris, seconded and carried to put $500 In budget for op tion on property in Barnett Road area for school site." If the letter in this paper is correct. Phoenix has already spent double the authorized amount for an option on a school site in the disputed area. This site, by Ihe way, is adjacent to the proposed now parochial school to bo con structed in this district. For a six-room school wllh gymnasium, cafeteria, library and office of comparable quality to the Hoover school, it is estimated a six-classroom grade school would cost the. Phoenix taxpayers $230,000. if they were to vote such a facility. SO lolll! BS luinirrlrill mi. pcriority is maintained In the southern area of the Phoenix district, as a practical political matter, the actual establish ment of these facilities near Barnett rd. in the near future may reasonably and fairly be questioned, if the area should remain in the Phoenix dis trict. The construction of these duplicate fncllltliw u not a more efficient use of public funds. Equalisation of Resources A point Is made about equalization of flnanplnl rtv. sources. After the removal' of this area, the valuation per census child In the Phoenix district would be greater than mat of Ashland and Central Point, and it would continue to place Phoenix in the mM. die so far as valuation per census child in Jackson coun ty is concerned. Suffice it to sav. in con. elusion, as time does not per mit a blow by blow reply to this letter, democratic princi ples should prevail. So Inno as all, or substantially all, of me Mecllord families In the area desiring the change, have expressed their wishes so manifestly and clearly, to ue piacca in me Aicaiorct dis trict, and their request has been approved bv the conntv school district reorganization committee, the group elected by all of the school boards of Jackson countv tn hnnrilp th problem of school district re organization, reason and jus tice, as we know It in the U.S., entitles the netitloners tn nro. sent and seek approval of the requested change by the Jack son county boundary board. Nixon's Wife to Accompany Him On Campaign Chicago - (WD - When Vice President Richard M. Nixon goes off to the campaign wars in the fall he'll have his wife Pat by his side. Mrs. Nixon, who attended a "Great Lady Luncheon" as part of the GOP convention whingding Wednesday, said after it was over that "we're not counting our chickens be fore they're hatched," but she added "we've always been a team and I'll be in there pitching too." The Vice President's wife said their two children Julie, 12, and Tricia, 14, are having a grand time and that the highlight of the convention so far for them has been the president's speech last night. Of the "great lady" lunch eon which she attended today she said "it was thrilling . . . I was very proud of It." Following the luncheon she said she and the children visited with Mrs. Eisenhower and the children got to say hello to the president "which is always a thrill for them." She said they chattered with the first lady and the children had cokes and "really lived it up." Mrs. Nixon said the chil dren were spunky and bear ing up well during tre con vention confusion. Curfew Halls Racial Violence Greenville, S. C. IllPi) - A strict curfew barring every one under 21 from the streets of Greenville after 9 p.m. ap parently choked off Interra cial violence In this textile mill city Tuesday night. Mobs of while and Negro youths roamed the" streets Sunday and Monday nights engaging In knife and rock battles. The city council, in a five minute session, enact ed the curfew law Tuesday at the request of Police Chief P. P. Oakes, Oakcs said he was "ex tremely well pleased" with the result. He indicated en forcement of the law may be relaxed when the racial tem per cools. . Cover your patio 0 or carpon wnn Sunset or carport with S as Shatterproof, beautiful colors. For fences, wind breaks, partitions. 26" wide x 8, 10 and 12 feet long . 39 Ft. Norton Lumber Company Jfj Phoenix Camp White Ashland Letter to Putnam Reviews Problem In Barnett Area Editor's notei The Jack son county school boundary board has under considera tion a recommendation from the school reorganisation committee to transfer a par cel of lend in the Barnett rd. area Irom the Phoenix to the Medford school dis trict. The action by the commit tee was protested by the Phoenix school board in I letter to Rex Putnam, su perintendent of the state department of education. The letter follows! School District Reorganization State Department of Education Rex Putnam, Superintendent Salem, Oregon Dear Sir: We, as School Directors of Phoenix School District No. 4. wish to protest the action of the Jackson County Reorgani zation Committee taken on July 20, 1960 of approving transfer to the Medford School District No. S49C of a portion of our newly con solidated district containing 63 pupils and residential prop erty totalling approximately $500,000.00 assessed valua tion. This newly consolidated dis trict was formed as a result of action taken by the Re organization Committee on August 25, 1959 declaring that Ihe consolidation of Phoenix School District No. 4 and Tal ent School District No. 22 was "in line with Reorganization procedure." This consolidation was approved by the Bound ary Board on September 25, 1S59. The property in question which the Reorganization Committee approved for trans fer out of our district also in cludes the Roguo Valley Man or, about a $5,500,000.00 struc ture with a potential $1,500, 000.00 assessed valuation. Not Representative We feel that the Jackson County Reorganization Com mittee is not representative of Jackson County, being com posed of four members from the City of Medford with no representation whatever from the three districts or that por tion of the county south of Medford, and that the decision reached was based on political and selfish considerations by the majority urban members, rather than mature and care ful consideration of the entire problem involved. At the time of the consoli dation of Phoenix School Dis trict No. 4 and Talent School District No. 22, the Phoenix school district had an assess ed valuation of $4,919,779 with a 63.1 mill school levy. Talent had an assessed valua tion of $1,618,341 with an 82 mill levy. Medford had a valu ation of $44,304,547 with a 60.2 mill levy. We estimate that the school levy for 1960-61 of our newly consolidated Phoenix School District No. 4 will be about 72 mills, but the people approved the consolidation in spite of the millage raise in School District No. 4, because they felt such consolidation would benefit the educational pro gram and facilities for the en tire area, and was meeting the objectives of the reorganiza tion law. They did not expect more taxable property to be taken from them. Per Pupil Wealth Also, at the time of con solidation the per pupil wealth (ability to support a school) of the Phoenix District was $4, 208, and that of the Talent District was $2,487. After con solidating the two- districts, we emerged with a per pupil wealth of $3,662.81. At this time the per pupil wealth of the Medford District No. 549C was $4,432.00. Currently we now have in our consolidated district an assessed valuation of a b o u t $6,538,121. Wc have a budget which will require that wc raise by taxation $474,120.00, which will mean a levy of about 72 mills. Should the area wc mention be removed from our district it would drop our valuation to about $6,000,000, raising our mill age to over 79 mills. This means a cost of about $40,000 FIBERGLASS - patio panels a year to our district. Should the additional $1, 500,000 assessed valuation of the manor be denied us it would mean the loss of mi olher $100,000 or more a year, enough to build a school In this area in less than two ycdra financing, when the number of children warrant It. At the present lime the children are being transport ed 4 miles by bus to our school In Phoenix. Paid Option The fact Is, wc have already paid $1,000 to take a years option on 9 acres in this sec tion for a school site. We have 75 per cent of our bond ing capacity of $1,330,833.00 remaining, so that we arc in a good financial position to build a school when necessary. In the event we cannot take this option up because of the property being transferred out of our district we stand to lose the $1,000 already paid for the option, plus interest charges. The transfer of this area is quite obviously being engi neered by Medford real estate Interests, and not by the Med ford school district. The area Is just south of Medford, and has recently been Included In the Medford city limits. Prop erty has been sold there with the implication to the pur chasers Unit the area would be placed In the Medford school district, and the chil dren then would be eligible to attend Medford schools a few blocks away. The laud in the Phoenix school district which was placed in the city limits of Medford has been tn the Phoenix district for 12 years. Before that it was a non-high district known as the North Phoenix school district. It in cludes the hill upon which the Manor Is located. The reorga nization committee In approv ing the transfer Into the Med ford school district of all School District No. 4 property in the city limits was approv ing the transfer of Die Manor Itself, which Is a retirement home for the elderly, with of course, no children in resi dence. Understandably, the Trade-in Allowance FOR YOUR OLD WATCH. ANY H ,fULOV 'ofTV 1 AGE, MAKE OR CONDITION h ?ve'tLj ft ft A " WHEN YOU PURCHASE A NEW 18 A Vfts-S) I REG. 297flJlfa 17-JEVJGL mJsS h WATER and SHOCK PROOF miJmx'm mnjjL7A raw WITH METAL STRETCH BAND l fxmsJ jr ONLY AN VatUh jWr t 50' A WEEK TMfl LIMITED TIME --tTftPft 1 We$" i '"yyt)",1," at jffi Medford school district has Indicated that they would op pose annexiillon of the resi dence nreu if It did not curry wllh It enough luxuhlo valua tion to provldo school facili ties and educate the dilution of the area. Consequently the Manor was contained In this area approved for transfer, so that the Medford school dis trict would not be opposed lo annexing it. Violations Noted Tliu stale board of educa tion has sot fortli four specific objectives of school reorgani zation, and we feel this trans fer of property definitely vio lates No, 2 and No, 4 of these objectives, namely: (2) A more efficient use of public funds, by creation of udinlnlslriitlvo school districts which cun furnish nocessury cducutloniil services ut reason able cost, (4) As great a degree of equalization of financial re sources at the local level as can be effected by school dis trict reorganization. Undoubtedly of particular interest to you are the state wide implicutions of the grad ual absorption of a newly cre ated administrative district. The Phoenix-Talent combined district, currently a sound eco nomic system, is sandwiched between two large school sys tems - those of Ashland and Medford. Inescapably, our dis trict borders on the two cities. As the cities grow, must our Pomona Grange Takes Stand in Land Issue The Jackson county Po mona Grange this week went on record "approving the stand of Ihe Phoenix school board thai the pres ent school district bound aries be left as they are." The present boundary be tween Ihe Phoenix and Medlord school districts Is Barnett rd., and Ihe Grange felt that since It was ap proved by both districts through the county reor ganisation committee that It should remain tha bound ary. This week's action by the Pomona Grange stemmed from a recent request by residents living south of Barnett rd. to be transfer red Into the Medford dis trict. The people live with in the city limits of Med lord, but era In the Phoenix school district. iilrcutlv ""Hill but iiid dis trict always shrink? If so, the sumo pulley must ho uppllcd to all other small districts In tho atnto which tiro neighbors of big school districts and big communities'. This policy would deny the small districts the opportunity tn mulnluln and strengthen themselves. Instead, they would become Increasingly Ineupalile of pro viding good cducntlons (or their children. Wo do not be llevc this wits the intent of the school reorganization luw, unci we do believe It could fur ther endanger the entire pro gram for the stiilo of Oregon, Wo might add that on Sep tember 22, 1U5II Ihe Phoenix school district relinquished to tho Medford school district a truct of luud upon which they hud purchased a school site without realizing It wits In our district. Agnln In September, 1950, wo guve up about $230, 000 more of assessed value llnn lo Medford to straighten tho boundary and to establish It at what Is known as Barnett road. At Uils llmo we hud an understanding with the bound ary board that no further nib bling at our district would occur. We feol It is now high time to take stand. We respectfully request that this properly trunsfer be In vestigated at the state level before final approvul of the tmnfer cun be effeoted. A statement Is enclosed which briefly outlines Ihe pro gram of education sot up for the 1980 01 school year by the consolidated Phoenix Talent school district. It Is a program which needs all the luxiihle support from property that can be provided. Respectfully yours, Phoenix School District No. 4 Dr. M. D. McGcary, chairman L. W. Newbry . Joyce Goodrich Allen Harris Bruce Cyphers Merle Slmmnnds Molvln Lattle HELP We hmJ clelhlne, iheti, e'likti, furniture, serf bedding. We Pick Ue. ' HUP OTHIRSI The Salvation Army 30 N. Hollr SPrine 1-71J5 122 E. MAIN ST. Phone SP 3-5348 ' ITORI HOURS ts30 t.m, le S:30 l.m.
