Page 2
The INDEPENDENT, March 21, 2001
Tho
INDEPENDENT
Serving the upper Nehalem River valley. Published twice
monthly, on the first and third Wednesdays of each
month, by Public Opinion Laboratory Ltd., 725 Bridge
Street, Vernonia, OR 97064, as a free newspaper. Edi
tors and Publishers, Dirk & Noni Andersen. Phone/Fax:
503-429-9410, e-mail: noni@vernonia.com
You
F**-
T a < C ny M cm vö /
Opinion___________
Budgeting requires
adequate information
It’s budget time for government bodies in Oregon;
the only problem is that local governments don’t yet
have enough information to complete the process.
Vernonia School District doesn’t yet know how
much it will be getting from the state...and won’t know
until the legislature and the governor agree on the
amount. When this legislative session began, the Re
publican leadership was talking about first taking care
of education funding. This time, they said, they weren’t
going to let it drag on and on. It sounded like they re
ally understood the need for efficiency. That was in
January.
It is now nearing the end of March and the legisla
tive leadership is no closer to making a decision on
school funding than it was in January. As a matter of
fact, there haven’t been any funding decisions made
at all.
Anyone who has tried to plan a budget knows how
impossible that task is without any idea of what your
income will be. It is time — past time - for the “leader
ship” to stop talking about what they are going to do
and start doing it.
When the voters passed Measures 5 and 40, which
eliminated local control over school funding, it became
the responsibility of the legislature. When a person is
elected to the state legislature, they accept that re
sponsibility. If they can’t handle the job, they should
resign.
The City of Vernonia has delayed completion of its
budget for an entirely different reason. Collective bar
gaining is underway and, until negotiations are final,
they also lack necessary information.
There are two other problems facing all public
agencies this year: Health insurance premiums may
increase by as much as 30 percent and nobody knows
how much energy rate increases will be.
This is not an easy year for public budget architects.
Speaking of budgets...
There are vacancies on the Budget Committee of
the Vernonia School District and that is a great place
for new school board members, or anyone really in
terested in local schools, to become acquainted with
reality. The two new directors in the Vernonia district
would be wise to apply for spots on the budget com
mittee.
Jim Krahn has some experience in that venue and
could quickly become a contributing member. Rick Ho
bart, on the other hand, has yet to attend a school
board meeting so it would be even more valuable for
him to get started as quickly as possible.
Perhaps the most valuable result o f all education is the abil
ity to m ake yourselfdo the thing you have to do, when it ought
to be done, whether you like it or not; it is the fir st lesson that
ought to be learned; it is probably the last lesson [we] learn
thoroughly.
— T.H. Huxley
(18 2 5 -1 8 9 5 )
5
n r ?
r? r->
i n r~ t
-
Q
sy
/T
a
Salem Scese
\By Rep. Elaine M. Hopson
Second District
MARCH 9, 2001
A busy, busy week as bills come through,
needs are identified, and money decreases. As
you are no doubt aware, there appears to be a
slight downturn in the economy and that projects
a reduction in the revenues available to the state
to fund programs. This impacts all areas and
tough choices will need to be made.
On March 6, the Speaker’s Task Force on
Funding for Seniors and Disabled Services had
its first meeting at the Hilyard Senior Center in
Eugene. The hearing was attended by over one
hundred people, mostly seniors and citizens with
disabilities. Numerous issues were presented in
cluding the severe impacts cuts will cause to our
programs for these special populations. It is
safe to say that everyone sees the benefit of the
programs targeted for potential cuts; however,
there is not agreement as to where the money is
to address these needs. It is so distressing to re
alize that in order to provide funding in one area,
resultant cuts will occur in other areas.
There was every expectation that the Com
munity Colleges budget would be passed on
Thursday. Although the budget is very reason
able and deserves support (in my opinion), it
was put on hold to await more information re
garding revenues and the total, overall state
budget. The most important factor is the $45
million to address the student growth issue.
There are some other related programs that ap
ply specifically to certain community colleges
that do not support us directly. These programs
are open for discussion at some later point prior
to the budget moving the Ways and Means.
During these times of tight money, special pro
grams, especially those that were originally set
up as “pilot programs” may need to be dropped,
even though they are excellent.
MARCH 16, 2001
The Governor finished his press conference
just a few minutes ago and has “re-balanced” his
budget. Included within his rebalance are the fol
lowing: restoration of $12.5 million for senior
services; $6.8 million to restore up to 50 percent
of Oregon Project Independence; $45 million to
Oregon University System; $9.7 million to Ore
gon State Police; $6.4 million to retain Tillamook
Youth Accountability Camp; and $5 million to the
Emergency Pund. These additions will certainly
help us in District 2 to address some of the
needs we have in education, senior services,
and education. The Governor maintained his
support for the Oregon Children Plan as origi
nally set out in his budget.
Last Saturday, the Task Force on Seniors and
Disabled traveled to Medford where we heard
from seniors and residents regarding the pro
posed budget reductions. Tomorrow, March 17,
we travel to Bend to talk with folks there. There
continues to be hope that money will be avail
able to support these much-needed services.
Forestry and Agriculture Committee passed
out a bill that would allow money from gifts and
grants to the Oregon Department of Forestry to
be used for enhancements for recreational pur
poses in the State Forests. The committee con
tinues to address issues that attempt to balance
the various needs of our agriculture, farming,
and forestry needs with the demands imposed
by various conservation needs in order to pro
tect the future.
In Education, wc spent considerable time on
changing the mandatory school attendance age
from ages 7-18 to 5-18. With the understanding
that some five-year-olds are not ready to attend
formal education, there is a continual challenge
to find ways to educate our youth to their full po
tential. The issue has become quite controver
sial with strong feelings on both sides. I am in fa
vor of the change with the understanding that
concerned parents who can offer their children
more benefits at home or in other programs
should be allowed to do so.
In Education Ways and Means we have spent
this week on the Oregon Student Assistance
Commission (formerly known as the Scholarship
Commission) budget. This is the organization
that provides financial assistance to higher edu
cation students including community colleges
and four-year institutions. Oregon is somewhat
unique in that both public and private colleges
use the same system and this streamlines the
process for applicants. Although there are some
monies available from the federal government,
the state also allocates funds in the form of
grants and loans to assist those in need. These
financial aids serve students of all ages.
Rep. E laine H op son
Salem Office;
H-376 State Capitol
Salem, OR 97310
Phone: 503-986-1402
email: hopson.rep@state.or.us
IIUamOfiLOffliai P.O. Box 656
Tillamook, OR 97141
Phone:1-503-842-5656
e m a il: ehopson@oregoncoast.com
.......... ........ - ■ ............ - .....................' ----- -------