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About Seaside signal. (Seaside, Or.) 1905-current | View Entire Issue (April 30, 2021)
OUR 114th Year SEASIDESIGNAL.COM April 30, 2021 $1.00 SEASIDE SCHOOL DISTRICT District unveils next school year’s budget By R.J. MARX Seaside Signal The Seaside School District presented its 2021- 2022 budget in what superintendent Susan Penrod described as a “year like no other.” Total revenues and expenditures of $48 mil- lion in the proposed budget are about $10 million lower than last year’s $58.2 million requirements, a result of reduced construction expenditures with the completion of the new campus on Spruce Drive. “With all the challenges our students, staff, fam- ilies and community have experienced this year, our dedication to students has never faltered,” Penrod said in presenting the budget to the board of directors last Tuesday. “The Seaside School District remains committed to our core values of equitable, safe learning environments, an engag- ing well-rounded education, and a focus on collec- tive wellness and community partnerships.” The school district adapted quickly and devel- oped a comprehensive distance learning program as well as a fully online program, known as Online Thrive, she said. The budget includes revenues of about $25.1 million from property taxes and an additional $22.8 million from other sources, including fed- eral and state grants designed to support transition back to full-time, on-site instruction, Penrod said. Instructional costs for teachers and programs comprise the largest portion of the general fund, the largest budget category. At about $13.9 mil- lion, the general fund is slightly higher than last year’s $13.7 million. Support services, including executive adminis- tration, transportation and operation maintenance, are proposed at $8.5 million. The construction bond fund will see a drop from $22 million to $2 million in the coming fiscal year, business manager Justine Hill said. That number will continue to draw down as the project comes to completion and construction costs are paid off. In its March 2021 economic outlook, the state projected a stronger economic growth this year and the next, possibly more than the U.S. has experi- enced in decades or generations, Hill said. Three factors are being attributed to this hope- See School budget, Page A3 Students, staff weather changing virus guidelines By KATHERINE LACAZE For Seaside Signal Although Clatsop County moved back into the high risk for the coronavirus late last week, the Sea- side School District is maintaining the status quo for the time being. The county’s transition “does not affect schools, so that is good news,” Superintendent Susan Penrod said at last week’s school board meeting. Earlier this month, a Seaside Middle School stu- dent tested positive for the coronavirus, and four Sea- side High School students and three staff members or volunteers have also tested positive for the virus within the past 28 days. The district continues to remain in the Oregon Department of Education’s green zone, which enables schools to offer in-person classes for all grade levels. However, the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic will Avenue S is looking to be the site of major road repairs. City budgets for infrastructure repairs By R.J. MARX Seaside Signal Seaside presented its 2021-22 proposed budget in three committee meetings last week. The budget calls for about $33.4 million in revenues and expenditures, up from last year’s $29 million revised budget. “At the beginning of last year’s budget message, I posed many questions,” City Manager Mark Winstan- ley said last Monday. “There was a great deal of uncer- tainty and many unknowns. Unfortunately, a lot of these questions remain unanswered, but this year there is an expectation we will be returning to some normality.” Design and reconstruction of the Avenue S corri- dor from U.S. Highway 101 to Wahanna is going to be a “huge project” for the city, he said, with participa- tion from the Seaside Road District and Seaside Urban Renewal on the project. Construction should begin this fiscal year, Winstanley said, with road construction costs of $3 million and bridge replacement at $7 million. The bridge is an asset that could benefit the city for years to come, he said. The city’s investment in the project could be a way to attract federal infrastructure funds through the Amer- ican Rescue Plan. “Seven million dollars is a lot of money for the city of Seaside,” Winstanley said. “Seven million dollars in a $2 trillion infrastructure program is peanuts.” The city has budgeted $1.4 million as revenue — $700,000 from last year’s fund balance and $700,000 from new funds — from the American Rescue Plan. The city awaits guidance on how those funds may be spent. The city also plans to develop a coordinated plan with local cities and agencies to address mental health and homelessness issues. “Clatsop County is a small area with limited resources and a regional approach will be needed to address and solve this issue,” Winstanley said. The city’s general fund, which includes the busi- ness office, library, community center, city attorney and mayor and city council, comprises the largest portion of the budget, including a nearly $2.3 million fund balance bringing its total to $9.3 million. Public safety, which includes police, fire and court, is budgeted at $8.5 million. Top city goals, identified at a City Council work ses- sion early this year, include plans for the former church property next to the public library on Broadway Street. Similarly, Seaside seeks to develop use and financing plans for the old school administration building at 1801 S. Franklin. The city acquired this property through a reversionary clause on the title and the council will be identifying how the property can be used and what See Infrastructure, Page A6 Budget offers funding opportunities for nonprofits By R.J. MARX Seaside Signal Local nonprofits shared their stories with mem- bers of the city’s budget committee last week. The committee heard pleas to send funds to victims of domestic violence, recovery agencies, and youth pro- grams among 13 organizations. The contributions are committee recommenda- tions coming from three funds, nondepartmental, general, public safety and business license/room tax. The funds are not confirmed until the budget is adopted in June. The groups sought a combined $128,000 of the $110,000 budgeted by the city for 2021-22. Terri Steenbergen, the executive director of The Harbor, an advocacy group for victims of domes- tic and sexual violence in Clatsop County, sought $15,000 from the revenue sharing funds for the group’s emergency response program. “We’re seeing a significant increase in the need for services,” she said, describing about a 52% increase in demand. Last year, The Harbor worked with over 500 sur- vivors, providing 4,000 services, spending $100,000 Seaside Signal on emergency services, housing, legal assistance and getting people to safe places. Helping Hands, which provides housing services, asked for the highest sum, $25,000. See Nonprofits, Page A6 See Guidelines, Page A3 Seaside firefighter Houston receives ‘Winged S’ award for Hug Point rescue Seaside Signal Seaside firefighter and medic Jer- amy Houston received the “Winged S” Sikorsky Rescue Award last week. The award came after Hous- ton responded to a March incident in which a 25-year-old hiker fell more than 100 feet from a Hug Point cliff. The award, delivered by U.S. Coast Guard Capt. Jeremy Smith at a ceremony at Hug Point, is pre- sented to individuals who partic- ipate in a rescue on a Sikorsky helicopter. At about 4:20 p.m. on Friday, March 5, Cannon Beach Fire and Rescue received a call of a person that fell off the cliff. Both Seaside Fire and Rescue and Nehalem Bay Fire and Rescue were asked to send their rope rescue teams to assist. The U.S. Coast Guard was called in to see if they could pick up the patient. Houston roped down to the beach to provide medical assistance to the patient and was later hoisted into a MH-60T Sikorsky helicop- ter for the rescue extraction. They flew to the Astoria Airport, where the patient was transferred to a wait- ing Life Flight helicopter and flown to Legacy Emmanuel for treatment. Along with volunteering with Life Flight Network the fire department, Houston is a flight paramedic with Life Flight Seaside firefighter and medic Jeramy Houston received the ‘Winged S’ Sikorsky Rescue Award. Network.