6A • April 27, 2018 • Seaside Signal • seasidesignal.com
Voters to weigh in on Sunset Rec expansion
‘We’ll deal with
the curveballs as
they come’
By R.J. Marx
Seaside Signal
The Sunset Empire Park
and Recreation District Board
of Directors voted unani-
mously Tuesday, April 17, to
support a November bond for
expansion of the aquatic facil-
ity on Broadway.
Plans for the $15 million to
$18 million bond include in-
door gym space, fitness rooms
and enhanced youth program-
ming areas.
“The time has come that
the district take action to
serve the entire population
and be able to offer a more
robust fitness and wellness
program, through the creation
or acquisition of more indoor
recreation space,” Skyler
Archibald, the district’s ex-
ecutive director, wrote in the
district’s budget document,
distributed at Tuesday’s meet-
ing.
The bond will be voted
on by residents of the inde-
pendent taxing district, who
include most residents of the
R.J. MARX/SEASIDE SIGNAL
JEFF TER HAR/FOR SEASIDE SIGNAL
Tournament swimmers at the Sunset Rec pool.
Seaside School District, ex-
cluding Cannon Beach and
Gearhart.
The goal of the expansion
is to provide indoor recreation
space for the community, Ar-
chibald said. With the relo-
cation of Broadway Middle
School to a new campus in the
Southeast Hills, the recreation
district could lose even more
space.
“There is no real indoor
recreation space for public
use, and when the school
is built, there will be even
less for general user groups
and individuals,” Archibald
said. “We’re really excited to
move this forward with this
plan.”
Campus construction to begin
in June with earthmoving
Board member Michael
Hinton asked fellow board
members to “do our home-
work” to analyze district leas-
es with the city, and to make
sure rights of way are clearly
delineated and deeded. “I’m
in favor of fine-tuning the
plan and getting our ducks in
a row.”
The district was formed
in 1969 and the Sunset pool
opened in 1978. Since that
time, programming has ex-
panded to a fitness center, com-
munity center, senior lunch
program, preschool and play-
ing fields. The district employs
seven full-time staff, with an
annual budget of $2.8 million.
Last spring, district board
members discussed the pos-
sibility of expansion, either
funded through a bond or
system development charges
— the fees paid by builders
to the city for essential infra-
structure.
Over the past three years,
the district has invested about
$60,000 in consultants for
building expansion.
Board members met at a
workshop early this month,
supporting a base plan rather
than an enhanced proposal
that would have called for the
purchase of all or a portion of
Broadway Middle School.
The enhanced plan would
have added between $7 mil-
lion and $9 million to the pro-
Idehara said construction
is expected to begin with
erosion control measures.
“You’ll see some fenc-
ing going up, then you’ll
see mobilization of getting
equipment on the site,” she
said. “Then you’ll see stump
removal and chip grinding
for those erosion control
measures. Then we start
earthmoving.”
R.J. MARX
Noelle Idehara of Hoff-
man Construction Co. and
Seaside School District
Superintendent Dr. Sheila
Roley.
“I think this project is so very
needed. I’m definitely on
board.”
Board members Mills,
Hinton, Veronica Russell and
Edward Hassan joined board
president Alan Evans in vot-
ing for the bond proposal.
“We’ll deal with curveballs
as they come,” Archibald said.
“It’s nearly impossible for us
to make every right choice
along the way, but as long as
I have your support moving
forward, I’m hopeful that next
month I can provide the time-
line and some of the actions
that need to take place.”
He hopes to have bond lan-
guage finalized by the board’s
July meeting, he said.
Broadway Middle School principal steps down
By Brenna Visser
Seaside Signal
Campus from Page 1A
posal, not including costs for
the purchase of school district
buildings.
The base plan, prepared by
consultants Ballard King with
Opsis Architecture, will add
a second level to the aquatic
facility on Broadway. If ap-
proved by voters, the facility
will see a new entrance, gym,
preschool rooms, an admin-
istrative office, lobby expan-
sion, party room and storage.
According to architects, the
expanded facility could be
completed by 2021.
Board member Jeremy
Mills said while he had some
misgivings about the timing
of the bond, the project’s ben-
efits outweighed his concerns.
Skyler Archibald, execu-
tive director of the Sunset
Empire Park and Recreation
District.
The principal of Broadway
Middle School announced his
resignation Tuesday, April 17,
to the Seaside School District
board.
After serving two years
as assistant principal and an-
other two as principal, Robert
Rusk said he decided to step
down at the end of this school
year to move to Vancouver,
Washington, to address “fam-
ily needs.” He has taken a
job as the principal of Seton
BRENNA VISSER
Broadway Middle School
Principal Robert Rusk will
step down at the end of this
school year.
Catholic College Prep, a high
school in the Vancouver area.
“(Seaside) is an amazing
community. The students, the
staff, the supportive board …
It’s going to be really difficult
to leave,” Rusk said. “Even
though I’ve only been here
four years, this community
feels like family.”
Rusk said some of his fa-
vorite moments as principal
included seeing Seaside’s
soccer team head to the state
tournament as a volunteer
coach, as well as getting to
greet all of the students every
morning at the front doors.
The school board unan-
imously accepted the resig-
nation, but with a collective
sense of sadness. Superinten-
dent Sheila Roley said Rusk is
known for his ability to con-
nect with students, and com-
mended him for “building a
culture of positive behavior
and high expectations” at the
middle school. The search
process to find Rusk’s replace-
ment will begin immediately.
“(Rusk) has done a won-
derful job. We’ll miss him
very much,” Roley said. “I’m
sure he’ll be as much of an as-
set to (Seton Catholic College
Prep) as he was for us.”
Juntos program empowers local families, offers college prep assistance
Juntos from Page 1A
is why the curriculum is
shared in Spanish, Mitchell
said. Another issue families
face is uncertainty about how
legal documentation, or the
lack thereof, affects students’
opportunities.
In Oregon, there are mul-
tiple options for all students
to not only attend a post-sec-
ondary institution — whether
it be community college or a
university — but also obtain
financial aid through the Ore-
gon Student Aid Application,
institutions themselves, or
other sources, Stanley said.
Mitchell agreed many fami-
lies don’t realize how many
resources are available to
them.
Seaside workshop
The Juntos class took
place at Seaside High School,
and dinner and childcare were
offered. Attendance varied
each Tuesday evening over
the course of the workshop,
but Rosario Alcantar, of Sea-
side, was a consistent partic-
ipant.
Alcantar has a son in 11th
grade at Seaside High School,
as well as an older daughter.
When her daughter graduated
a few years ago, Alcantar felt
she was unprepared and lack-
ing in pertinent knowledge to
assist and support her, so she
signed up for the Juntos class
to be better informed this time
around.
parents to add one more activ-
ity to their busy agendas.
“Was it a sacrifice of time
for her? Sure. But it is her
child’s education,” Mitchell
said.
Involving the
whole family
SUBMITTED PHOTO
Seaside School District hosted a six-week workshop through
OSU’s Juntos program to help educate and empower families
with students seeking higher education.
When asked what was the
most important information
she’d learned, Alcantar, who
was translated by Campos, re-
plied, “everything.” To elab-
orate, she added she learned
where to apply for financial
aid; the importance of visiting
various universities before
selecting one; and the higher
education opportunities avail-
able to Dreamers or undocu-
mented students.
Also, her son was leaning
toward attending a university,
she said, but after taking the
workshop, they’re more seri-
ously discussing community
college as a valuable option.
The same applies to Alcan-
tar’s daughter, who has not
yet achieved a college degree,
but now plans to go back.
For those parents on the
fence about participating in
a Juntos program, she said,
she would encourage them
to “think about their child’s
education, because education
starts at home.”
Mitchell was compli-
mentary of Alcantar’s dedi-
cation throughout the course
of the class and for finishing
strong, as it can be difficult for
Juntos, which translates
as “together” is Spanish, was
a program started at North
Carolina State University in
2007. In 2012, OSU adopt-
ed the program and adapted
it for Oregon communities.
Its mission is empowering
families around education by
providing culturally relevant
activities and workshops for
8th- to 12th-grade students
and parents. Juntos coordina-
tors work directly with school
districts and other community
partners to implement pro-
grams locally.
OSU recently expanded
Juntos to coastal, central and
eastern areas in Oregon, and
Sande Minnich Brown, the
curriculum and Title III di-
rector for the Seaside School
District, was instrumental in
bringing the program to the
community and handling lo-
gistics. A pilot version of Jun-
tos’ college readiness work-
shop was offered at a couple
sites in Clatsop County last
school year.
In addition to the six-week
workshop, Stanley said, the
Juntos program includes fol-
low-up monthly or bimonth-
ly family nights to promote
family and community en-
gagement; college visits; and
advisement throughout the
college application and finan-
cial aid process.
“It’s a sustainable pro-
gram throughout the year that
families can call on for assis-
tance,” he said.
This year, the college read-
iness class has been offered in
Seaside, Tillamook, Newport
and Lincoln City. A joint class
for the Astoria and Warrenton
school districts started Tues-
day, April 24, at the Warren-
ton Grade School. The class,
facilitated by Amanda Ca-
sian-Marquez, a grade school
teacher, and Andrea Gonza-
lez, with the Lower Columbia
Hispanic Council, runs from
5:30 to 8 p.m. Dinner and
childcare is provided.
At the conclusion, partici-
pants from both that workshop
and the Seaside workshop
will travel to Corvallis for a
tour of OSU. High school stu-
dents, parents and siblings are
invited along, as “one of the
biggest parts of the program is
the whole family is involved,”
Stanley said.
As a benefit, students of all
ages get a glimpse of what’s
possible and realize going on
to higher education is an ob-
tainable goal, he said. A nice
side effect is many parents are
also inspired to pursue fur-
ther education, whether it be
acquiring a GED or working
toward a college degree.
“Education is something
no one can take away from
you,” Stanley said.
SUB-BIDS
REQUESTED
Seaside
School District-
New Middle/
High Schools
Seaside, Oregon
Bid Package: #1
Site Work & Utilities
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April 26th • 2:00pm
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805 SW Broadway, Suite 2100
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Phone (503) 221-8811
Bid Fax (503) 221-8888
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