Bend-La Pine School Board Bond May 16
A characteristic that defines a high-quality community is its support for its public schools and the Bend La Pine Schools has enjoyed tremendous backing. Our community continually sends the message that we care about the quality of education for our young people and the environment in which they learn. When students know that the community supports them, they excel. And our students consistently demonstrate that they achieve at high levels. Their successes come, in part, from strong community support.
To maintain those successes, the school board has thoughtfully and wisely studied the learning environment within our schools. With the constant growth of our area and the need to protect our long-term investment in our schools, the school district has proposed the most urgent items – two new schools to address growth and high-priority, high-cost maintenance items that are beyond normal operating budgets.
The population within the school district is growing rapidly and will continue to do so. Having the capacity to meet the demand is critical. And, like any responsible property owner, investing in maintaining the integrity of buildings is also critical. When students learn in well maintained facilities that are not overcrowded, the learning environment is maximized and teachers are able to effectively teach.
Please join me in voting yes on the May 16th Bend La Pine Schools bond issue to send the message that we value education and will continue the long tradition of support for our students.
— Douglas M. Nelson, Ed.D. Retired Bend La Pine Superintendent
We cannot "rob Peter to pay Paul" by cutting our teaching force back and increase teacher-to-student ratios to astronomical levels in order to fix aged roofs and build new schools. Vote YES for the Bend-La Pine Schools construction bond and keep teachers in the classroom, drivers in our buses and staff in our schools, where they belong.
— Linda English
On May 16th, Bend voters will once again vote on whether to pass a new school bond for the Bend LaPine district, a $268.3 MILLION Bond. The importance of a public education system has been acknowledged since the days of Jefferson and without adequate funding such a system can falter. The voters of Bend have time and time again answered this call by passing school bond issues.
Now it is time for the school board/district to answer the call of the people of Bend. You ask for $268.3 MILLION, we ask for TROY FIELD, free and clear. We ask that Troy Field be given to the people of the City of Bend, now and forever, so that it may remain as it is a simple, undeveloped little space in the heart of town that is loved and used by our community.
The school board has cited the need of the sale of Troy Field as essential to help with their funding needs, and if it were not for the outcry and concerted actions from our community members over the past two years, Troy Field would now be on its way to becoming luxury apartments or a parking lot. Last year our community was successful in making its purchase too "hot" for one Portland developer, but we have no guarantee that the school board will not take up its aggressive campaign to sell Troy Field in the future. The school board spent thousands on legal council and repeatedly ignored the wishes of the community that so richly supports it both in finance and in volunteer works. I say now is the time for the BLSD to show concrete support for the community it serves.
I believe there exists a relatively simple solution. The school board/district can vote to donate Troy Field to the People of Bend and Bend City Council will create and vote to support a binding resolution that will keep Troy from development (even from inclusion into the 20-year-old Heritage Square plan). There already exists a grassroots framework to develop the management/maintenance plan.
Before you cast your ballot to support this bond issue and before you cast your ballot for district school board positions, ask that Troy Field be given to the people of Bend.
— Tracy Miller
Controlled Burns — A Safety Hazard
On the night of Wednesday, May 3, I opened various windows in my house to cool it off in preparation for a 86-degree Thursday. In the morning, I awoke just short of coughing and choking from the smoke that filled my house from the "controlled burn" miles away.
At the age of 82, such a situation can be deadly serious. What is the Forest Service thinking? Such controlled burns release all the carbon dioxide that the vegetation has impounded and thus contribute to the climate catastrophe.
Would it be so difficult for the Forest Service to use a chipper that might be able to turn that foliage into pellets or burnable fire logs so that they would at least be used? Seems like even chipping it up and returning it to the ground as fertilizer would be better than burning it. Why can't the government act ecologically? I know, at the moment it's because of Resident Rump, but he's temporary. The only war that needs to be fought is the one against the climate catastrophe, and we are losing it big time.
— Don Schuman
In Response to, Amid a Housing Crisis, Central Oregon Faces a Steep 31 Percent Increase in Homelessness (5/4)
Your sign on Highway 126 says "Deschutes County honors Veterans & First Responders" with what? A 41 percent increase in veteran homelessness? As a disabled retiree, I had to relocate after a winter ice dam/flooding incident, spent seven weeks with a mattress on the floor, was comp'd only $300 — after five years of perfect tenancy and four consecutive years of rent increases. Enjoy your Oregon version of Aspen, Colorado. That is exactly what you're making. Greed without bounds!
— Steve Stebbins, via facebook.com
