Friday, March 26, 2021 | Seaside Signal | SeasideSignal.com • A3
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The Seaside Civic and Convention Center as seen looking west from First Avenue.
Center: Number of events plummeted in 2020
Continued from Page A1
closed until May 26, the con-
vention center was shuttered
for much of the quarter. Bed
tax for April through June
dropped almost 51%
Throughout the year the
number of attendees of con-
vention center events and
meetings fell by three-quar-
ters, dropping from more
than 37,000 to 8,000.
The number of events
fell from 100 in 2018 to 55
in 2020.
“It plummeted,” Heine-
man said, referencing visi-
tor interest as measured by
website traffi c following the
March shutdown. “It was
decimated way below what
we see in mid-winter dol-
drums. There was a lot of
stress and a lot of fear out
there from every perspec-
tive you can imagine.”
The city donated back
$827,000 in bed tax col-
lected to the lodging prop-
erties that collected them
for
January
through
March 2020. The visitors
bureau also administered a
$250,000 emergency grant
program for businesses and
the city provided a water
service credit as part of this
comprehensive relief pack-
age, as well.
The convention center
reassigned some staff mem-
bers to the public works
department or public library.
The center issued a two-
page COVID-19 clean-
ing guidelines and health
guidance document, with
emphasis on cleaning, disin-
fectant, physical distancing,
mask practices and food and
beverage operations.
The center opened up for
smaller local civic groups,
including the Rotary and the
Seaside Downtown Devel-
opment Association.
“It gave them the ability
to meet face-to-face when
everyone was working on
Zoom,” Vandenberg said.
“You need social interac-
tion, you need to shake their
hands, look them in the eye,
see what they’re thinking,
feeling.”
Demand for convention
space will return to outpace
supply, he added. “Our pri-
orities have not changed,
just realigned to match cur-
rent guidelines and restric-
tions,” he said. “Even
though I am seeing what I
hope is the end of this pan-
demic, for us to recover it’s
going to be when the state
lifts all restrictions and
we’re able to operate at full
capacity.”
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Seaside in the mix, that cost
could jump to $35,000 per
student.
The Astoria School
District and the Warren-
ton-Hammond School Dis-
trict, which supply the
remaining
consortium
classrooms to their own stu-
dents, as well as those from
Knappa and Jewell, plan to
continue with the consor-
tium for now but will need
to evaluate their involve-
ment going forward.
“We’ll agree to this one
year at a time until we feel
comfortable with it,” Asto-
ria Superintendent Craig
Hoppes told the school
board at a recent meeting.
“But for right now, I think
it’s the right thing to do.”
Students enrolled in con-
sortium programs move
around between the school
districts that off er these
classrooms. Under the
agreement, Seaside, for
instance, provided room
to North Coast students in
kindergarten-through-sec-
ond grade. If what is off ered
with the consortium con-
tinues to be the best option
for certain students to meet
their needs, they may move
on to classrooms in other
districts as they move up in
grade levels.
“We’re really thank-
ful to our other school dis-
tricts in the county for the
collaboration through the
consortium over the years,”
Penrod said. “It’s been won-
derful partnering with them
and we are really thankful
for the consortium teachers
in Warrenton and Astoria
for their dedication to our
students.”
But Seaside School Dis-
trict administrators and par-
ents worried what mov-
ing back and forth between
other districts meant for
children. These students
might be in classrooms in
Astoria and Warrenton until
they returned to their home
district in Seaside for the
special education classes
the district off ered at the
high school level.
“That was a big con-
cern to parents, that stu-
dents weren’t having an
ability, through school, to
build relationships with
their peers in their neigh-
borhood, in their neighbor-
hood school,” Penrod said.
Some families also had
students in multiple build-
ings and across multiple
districts. The logistics of
getting everyone to the right
school in the morning or the
pivot that might be neces-
sary if one child became
sick at school could be very
diffi cult to manage, said
Lynne Griffi n, the director
of special services for the
Seaside School District.
With Seaside’s depar-
ture, there will be some
challenges, noted Tra-
vis Roe, director of special
programs for the Astoria
School District.
Still, he added, consor-
tium classrooms can look
very diff erent from year to
year depending on the needs
of the students enrolled.
“The reality is our class-
rooms adjust every year
anyway,” he said.
The consortium already
has teachers who bring with
them a wealth of experience
across a variety of special
needs challenges and pro-
grams. In Warrenton, one
teacher especially brings “a
lot to the table,” Roe said.
Even with a change in the
consortium this year, her
presence means the dis-
tricts still in the consortium
already have key resources
on hand.
Details of both Seaside’s
program and what the con-
sortium classrooms will
look like without Seaside
are still being determined.
Seaside plans to begin hir-
ing for its programs this
spring.
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building, even under these
circumstances, has been fan-
tastic,” Seaside Middle and
High School principal Jeff
Roberts said.
Pacifi c Ridge Elementary
School assistant principal
Jeremy Catt echoed Rob-
erts’ sentiment.
“I feel like I have my
old job back and I feel like
I’m myself again — walk-
ing through the halls, check-
ing in with students, check-
ing with our new staff that
are on-site — so that part
has just been really spe-
cial,” Catt said. “I couldn’t
be more excited for the next
Operational blueprint for student reentry.
couple months.”
Not all families are com-
Sherren steps down
me,” Sherren said.
fortable with having their
The
school
board
The highlight for him
students return to campus
in light of the pandemic. accepted the resignation of has been interacting “with
Juli Wozniak, principal of Seaside Middle and High students on a daily basis
Pacifi c Ridge, said they still School assistant princi- and working with them to
have about 20 students or pal Steve Sherren, eff ec- be successful in whatever
less per grade level using tive at the end of the 2020- they choose they want to
comprehensive
distance 21 school year. Sherren and do post-high school—help-
learning and about 50 partic- his family are relocating to ing them realize those aspi-
ipating in the Online Thrive the Phoenix area. Sherren rations and giving them the
program through the end of served as the assistant prin- skills needed.”
cipal of the former Broad-
the 2020-21 school year.
Superintendent
“We are currently run- way Middle School for four
evaluation
ning three diff erent school years — the fi rst school
The board is preparing
options,” Wozniak said. “It’s administrator role of his
quite a challenge, but over- career — before transition- for the annual superinten-
ing to assistant principal for dent evaluation. According
all, going well.”
to Penrod, three superin-
The only school that has sixth through 12th grade.
Having one person help- tendent goals were identi-
yet to reopen for on-site
instruction is Cannon Beach ing oversee all six grade fi ed during a recent board
Academy, but that will levels provided valuable training.
These goals are to
change March 29, after consistency for students,
increase
communication
Sherren said.
spring break.
“I felt very privileged about the school district
“We’re really looking
forward to seeing the joy you to work for the Seaside with all stakeholders in the
guys are seeing and looking School District and the Seaside community; sup-
forward to having those kids students and families and port all staff by equipping
back on campus,” executive communities of the dis- them with the training pro-
director Amy Fredrickson.
trict. It’s been an honor for cesses to provide compre-
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CREMATION
Oregon Department of Education
hensive distance learning
and hybrid learning for stu-
dents and families; and suc-
cessful completion of the
new building projects and
vacant building sales. Each
goal has a number of perfor-
mance indicators to assist in
the evaluation. The board
will perform the evaluation
during an executive ses-
sion before the April board
meeting and then share a
summary of the evaluation
at the meeting.
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