The INDEPENDENT, May 5, 2005
Page 13
School Board hears criticism on the lack of information made public
The five Vernonia School
Board members (Jim Krahn,
Cari Levenseller, Phil Doyle,
Gienah Cheney and Ed Buckn
er) attending the April meeting
heard harsh criticism concern
ing a lack of information provid
ed to the public.
Amy Cieloha protested the
pessimistic nature of discus
sions about Washington Grade
School, telling the board “not to
lose sight of the needs of
WGS.” Expressing frustration,
she said there were things at
WGS that “cannot wait 2-4
years,” and accused the board
of allowing WGS to deteriorate
WEATHER REPORT
APRIL 2005
DATE
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
TEMPEHATUBE
HI
LO
54
53
49
52
56
66
66
54
53
52
49
46
51
52
53
55
50
55
63
68
68
74
55
64
53
61
72
65
58
60
37
42
34
33
39
39
32
29
29
33
30
34
30
30
38
33
36
30
30
37
39
40
44
45
44
44
46
48
47
40
PBEC1P.
AMT,
.05
.09
.14
.07
T
.15
.33
T
--
.33
.09
.19
.08
.02
.59
.09
.27
.02
-
-
-
--
.21
.40
.19
-
-
.09
.02
and
pirecipitatii
Temperature
from
the
official U.
amounts are
weather station at the Vernonia wa
ter plant. Measurable precipitation in
April totalled 3.42 inches.
as a way of forcing voters to
support a bond measure. Su
perintendent Mike Funderburg
assured Cieloha that the district
was not ignoring everyday
problems and invited her to at
tend the maintenance commit
tee meetings.
Maintenance
Supervisor
John Lewis usually attends
board meetings to discuss his
monthly written report in detail,
but was not present at this
meeting.
The reports have not been
made readily available to the
public, however. For most of
the school year, the mainte
nance report has been referred
to, but not provided to the pub
lic. Following the meeting,
board chairman Jim Krahn told
The Independent that a version
of Lewis’s report, with confiden
tial material removed, would be
made available at the next
board meeting.
Geopotential, an environ
mental and geophysics firm
from Gresham, conducted a
radar survey of the cafeteria
kitchen area in the Washington
Grade School basement, find
ing what appear to be small
voids, about two inches wide,
where pipes should be. No
large earth movements or sink
hole were found, but the pipes
don’t appear to exist. According
to Funderburg, the building re
tains structural integrity and
solid footings under columns.
Kate Conley was critical of
the board’s lack of a long-term
plan, and the lack of public in
volvement or feasibility studies.
According to Conley, the board
made the decision to borrow
money, and designed a building
isolated from the public. She
told the board, “I don’t want a
Band-Aid that the board has
decided to put on!”
Krahn responded that the
board has spent a lot of time
“balancing expense with value”.
Krahn said that O’Brien Con
structors and the architect,
DOWA, would be asked to work
with the community to develop
a site plan for the future of the
district. He continued, “Let’s get
a plan and let people throw
darts at it for a year”. Later in
an interview, he expanded that,
saying he “would have liked it if
[the decision to design/build]
had not been a board decision,
but there was no other choice.”
The board voted unanimous
ly to terminate the contract with
Willamette ESD, which was
originally guiding the building
project. Since the contract was
awarded to O’Brien Construc
tors in January, far more
progress has been made on
the project, Funderburg told the
board, adding that the district
has not been satisfied with the
services provided by the
WESD. O’Brien Constructors
and DOWA have been working
directly with Funderburg and
Dawn Plews. The district ex
pects a savings of at least
$45,000 as a result of manag
ing the job in-house.
In other business, the board:
• Was told by Principal Curt
Scholl that a “small glitch” at
the Charter School had been
resolved and students will no
longer be using up bandwidth
with streaming audio.
• Approved a policy requiring
students to pass eighth grade
English and math before enter
ing high school. Short remedial
classes will be offered for both
junior high and high school stu
dents. The district is also work-
ing on a schedule for summer
classes that would correspond
with dates a principal can be in
the building.
• Heard from Sally Harrison
that she would volunteer to di
rect school dramatic produc
tion.
• Approved the calendar for
2005-06, with classes begin
ning after Labor Day. Students
will have the day off when Cy
cle Oregon comes to town,
September 16.
• Heard from Cathy Ward,
the teachers union representa
tive, that parents are more in
formed about their students
progress. Since full implemen
tation of Grade Machine soft
ware, parents receive the
equivalent of a progress report
every two weeks, but teachers
would like to be able to meet
with parents throughout the
year, particularly on early re-
, lease Fridays.
• Students will be recognized
for exemplary achievement
through a student of the month
program. Winners photos will
be displayed at US Bank.
Amateur radio examinations scheduled for May 15
An Amateur Radio Examina <wireless.fcc.gov/uls/>, then
tion, including the 5 WPM click on CORES/call sign regis
Morse Code, is scheduled for tration.
If up-grading a license, bring
Sunday, May 15, at 1:00 p.m.
at the Vernonia Fire Hall, 555 CSCE certificate which is good
for 365 days from the last
E. Bridge St., Vernonia.
A non-refundable fee of exam. Check the date for cred-
$14.00 per exam is required.
Cash or personal checks on lo
cal banks, plus two sources of
ID; one a drivers license and
another document with a cur
■
rent address must be provided.
A non-programmable calculator
can be used, after it has been
. i- ■ "
checked.
The FCC requires a social
security number or an FRN
• Exposed fastener Products 2’
number which can be obtained
• No Clog G utter Systems
in advance at the FCC web site
• Consealed fastener Products
• Purlins & Girts
• Standing Seam 1", 1Z“ , 2"
• Sofet System
• Braked Shapes
to 2 6 '4 " long 16 ga. max.
it towards the upgrade.
The exam is sponsored by
the Vernonia Emergency Radio
Association, W7VER, which is
under the ARES system of Co
lumbia County.
Participants must be prompt
I m WtOTO i T
as the doors will be shut by
1:30 p.m and locked. The exam
should take about two hours.
For questions, call Norm
Roberts, KB7CD, at 503-429-
2405 or email <kb7cd.norm@
juno.com>.
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