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The INDEPENDENT, May 16, 2012
Chalk Talk
Chalk Talk is a column of information about Ver-
nonia schools. This column was provided by Su-
perintendent Dr. Ken Cox.
Congratulations to the Vernonia High School
Band for placing first at the Oregon State Band
Competition for 2A/1A schools! Mr. Izzett has
done a great job in helping these students learn
how to work together to create great music. Well
done Vernonia band students!
The end of the year is fast approaching,
which means we are getting serious about plan-
ning for moving everything to the new school
this summer. We are currently planning our big
move day for June 26th. If you would like to vol-
unteer please contact Barb Carr at the district
office. Students are welcome, but they must be
at least 12 years old. We are hoping to coordi-
nate this effort so that we can get as much ac-
complished as possible without having people
standing around or getting hurt by trying to do
too much. We will be asking all volunteers to
sign a release before helping.
As we prepare for the move, we are trying to
make sure we move only those things we can
use. So we are organizing a Surplus Sale. This
will be a one day event on May 22nd where the
surplus items will be available for viewing in the
WGS basement (199 Bridge St). The items will
be available for preview from 6:00 to 7:00 p.m.
and the sale will be from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. All
items will be sold “as is” and cash and carry is
preferred as we do not accept credit or debit
cards. Arrangements can be made for pick up
within one week after sale. All money is due the
day of sale and there
will be no pre-sales.
For a list of items avail-
able or other ques-
tions, please contact
Betsy Miller at the district office (503-429-5891)
or by email at bmiller@vernonia.k12.or.us.
You probably have already heard that there
will be some changes next year due to the budg-
et shortfall. We presented a balanced budget to
the District Budget Committee last week, but in
doing so are proposing the following changes:
• The entire district will take five (5) Furlough
Days where every staff member in the district
will not report to work. Two of these days will be
scheduled to allow them to be used to replace
snow days if needed.
• We will eliminate 2.2 Full Time Equivalent
(FTE) licensed positions (one due to a resigna-
tion); 2.4 FTE classified positions, primarily due
to changing demands at the new school build-
ing; and over $10,000 in administrative costs.
• We will no longer be able to provide funding
for middle school sports.
I would point out that this is the proposed
budget and is subject to change since we con-
tinue to get more accurate information on feder-
al funding and other funding opportunities. We
will be discussing the budget in detail at the next
Budget Committee meeting, scheduled for
Thursday, May 24, at 6:00 p.m., where the pub-
lic is welcome. If you have suggestions or con-
cerns please let me know by May 21st so we
can research the feasibility of any proposed
changes.
CCRider Student Fun Passes now on sale
Columbia County Rider
Transportation has announced
that the 2012 Student Summer
Fun Pass is now available for
eligible students. The pass is
good for all zones and routes,
and allows students to travel lo-
cally and regionally on the
CCRider system. The $45.00
pass is valid from June 7
through September 4.
To be eligible for the pass,
Vernonia
Veterinary
Clinic
Formerly Midway Veterinary Clinic
Monday, Wednesday & Saturday
students must be enrolled in
Columbia County schools, at-
tending grades 1-12 in the up-
coming school year. Some ex-
tra paper work is required for
students under the age of 12 in
order to insure the safety of
those riders.
To purchase a 2012 Student
Summer Fun Pass call CCRid-
er dispatch at 503-366-0159, or
purchase the Pass directly
from CC Rider drivers on any
route.
For information regarding
routes, schedules and the tran-
sit system, go to the website:
www.columbiacountyrider.com.
School board expects
cuts to make budget work
The Vernonia School Board
meeting of May 10 was preced-
ed by the first budget meeting
for the 2012-13 fiscal year.
The budget message stated
that due to lower student count,
relatively flat funding from the
state, significant increases in
transportation costs, contractu-
al salary increases and other
factors, the budget is being bal-
anced by reducing days of
school and making staffing
cuts.
The district is proposing five
furlough days and the elimina-
tion of 2.2 full time licensed po-
sitions (one resigned and the
position will not be filled), and
2.4 classified positions; there
will also be $10,000 cut from
administrative costs. The clas-
sified position cuts are consid-
ered to be “due to changing de-
mands at the new school build-
ing”. Budget committee meet-
ings are scheduled to continue
through May 24, so some of
these proposals may be modi-
fied before the budget’s final
approval by the board of direc-
tors.
When the regular board
meeting started, High School
Principal Nate Underwood an-
nounced that 100 percent of
the seniors passed their read-
School will hold surplus sale on
May 22 – preview from 6 to 7 p.m.
The Vernonia School District
will hold a surplus sale on
Tuesday, May 22, in prepara-
tion for the big move up the hill
to the new school.
There will be a preview from
6:00 to 7:00 p.m. followed by
the sale from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m.
in the Washington Grade
School basement, at 199
Bridge Street. Enter off of Cali-
fornia Avenue, use basement
door (handicapped access).
Lists of the items to be sold
are available at the school dis-
A IR C ONDITIONED D INING
Mariolino’s
700 Weed Avenue
Vernonia
ing tests. The board also heard
about recent happenings at the
middle school and high school
levels in reports given by lead-
ership students.
Steve Effros, the school con-
struction project manager, told
the board about a big volunteer
planting effort at the new
school that will include PCC
students, contractors and the
board, and will take place on
June 1 at the new school.
High school graduation cer-
emonies will take place June 2,
while eighth grade promotion
will be held June 6.
In other business, the board:
• accepted the resignation of
high school language arts
teacher Erica Bell;
• approved 24 revised poli-
cies;
• approved a supplemental
budget moving more money
into food service for the current
fiscal year;
• declared a list of items as
surplus. These items will be in-
cluded in the surplus sale
scheduled for May 22 (see
Chalk Talk on this page for
more details).
The next regular meeting of
the board of directors will take
place on June 14, starting at
6:00 p.m., at the district office.
503-429-5018
N OW SERVING FRESH MADE
P ASTA S ALADS , P OTATO S ALAD
AND G ERMAN P OTATO S ALAD
721 Madison Ave.,Vernonia
trict office, 475 Bridge Street.
All items will be sold “as is.”
Cash and carry preferred.
Arrangements can be made to
pick up items up to one week
after sale. All money due day of
sale. No pre-sales.
Memorial Day,
May 28,
is set aside
as a day of
remembrance
for those
who have
died in our
nation’s
service.