KIDS AND CAFFEINE
IT ALL WENT DOWNHILL
Three out of four children consume caffeine, A6
U.S. skier Bode Miller finishes eighth, B5
MONDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 2014
Serving Oregon’s South Coast Since 1878
Schools see slight uptick in graduates State education leaders itching to reach 40-40-20 goal by higher graduation, completer rates ■
BY CHELSEA DAVIS The World
Graduation rates are improving, but not fast enough for state education officials. On Thursday, the Oregon Department of Education released graduation and dropout rates and essential skills data from the 20122013 school year. Last year, 68.7 percent of Oregon students graduated in four years, only 0.3 percent higher than the year prior. “While I’m pleased to see our graduation numbers increasing, we simply aren’t seeing the pace of change we need,” said Rob Saxton, Oregon’s deputy superintendent of public instruction. This bundle of data points toward Gov. John Kitzhaber’s 4040-20 goal. By 2025, he wants every student to earn a high school diploma or its equivalent within five years of entering high school. That benchmark will be measured using the five-year completer rate, which captures students who received a regular diploma, GED, modified diploma, extended diploma or adult high school diploma within four or five years of entering high school.
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Change will result in staff cuts; parents troubled by speed of decision BY CHELSEA DAVIS The World
COQUILLE — The Coquille School District will look entirely different this fall as grades are redistributed through its three buildings. Coquille High will become a junior-senior high school with the addition of seventh- and eighth-
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More information To find detailed data about your school, go to www.ode.state.or.us.
Last year, 81.5 percent of students fell into that group, up only 1 percent from the year prior. Nancy Golden, Oregon’s chief education officer, said “these results certainly aren’t in line with where we hoped we’d be.” Six of the South Coast’s 14 high schools got at least 82 percent of their students through high school in five years. Only Oregon Coast Technology School saw every single student complete high school within five years. On the other end of the spectrum, 36 percent of students at Resource Link, Coos Bay’s K-12 charter school, were unable to get any kind of diploma within five years.
More dropping out Dropout rates are also increasing — minimally. The state says that’s due in part to errors in previous dropout data. These reports used to leave out June dropouts. Including those kids, 3.98 percent — more than 7,000 students — dropped out of high school last year. The South Coast contributed nearly 250 students to that statistic. “It’s not that there are significantly more students dropping out
The Associated Press
Jamie Anderson of the United States celebrates after winning the women's snowboard slopestyle final at the 2014 Winter Olympics on Sunday in Krasnaya Polyana, Russia. The Americans swept the new slopestyle events and the U.S. picked up a bronze in the team ice skating event. See full coverage in Sports, B1.
SEE GRADUATES | A8
Reconfiguring Coquille schools a reality ■
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graders. Coquille Valley School (currently grades 3-8) will turn into Coquille Valley Elementary, housing grades 1-6. Lincoln Elementary will become an early learning center, serving children ages 3-5, pre-kindergarten, full-day kindergarten and Head Start. Superintendent Tim Sweeney said the shift could save the district $300,000, a proposal he’s bringing to the school board Wednesday. The savings would come from staff cuts. “We are refocusing our energies
toward the classroom, toward lowering class sizes for teachers,” he said Thursday afternoon. “... That means people outside of the direct classroom will be impacted. It’s just the reality of the beast. Right now people are in the process of learning their jobs are being impacted.” The district will also dip into the $55,000 left in the Qualified Zone Application Bond it received in 2012 to fuel reconfiguration costs. “We believe that we have the funds to offer three sections of preK and three sections of full-day kindergarten next year,” he said.
In December, the Coquille school board approved grade reconfiguration 6-1, with Claresa Roberson as the dissenting vote. Roberson, parent of a kindergartner, third-grader and high school senior, emphasized she was speaking as a parent, not a school board member. The change is unnecessary and administration’s reasoning changed over time, she said, from decreasing enrollment to a potential funding loss to staff reductions and combined services.
“We are refocusing our energies toward the classroom, toward lowering class sizes for teachers. ... That means people outside of the direct classroom will be impacted.” Tim Sweeney Superintendent Coquille Schools
SEE COQUILLE | A8
Coos Bay seeks a temporary city councilor
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the council Dec. 27, 2011, due to health concerns. The council chose to use an application and interview process to select a person to fill the vacant office. Howard Forte, Bill Davis and Jon Hanson applied for the vacant office; and Jon Hanson was appointed to fill the office for the remainder of the unexpired term. The charter provides the council with three options: Accept letters of interest and interview, appoint the candidate with the highest number
of votes from the previous election, or simply appoint someone by majority vote. Craddock said in a telephone interview Thursday that, the council decided to seek letters of interest. Public notice has since gone out seeking those letters of interest for consideration. He says the person must be a registered voter, must have resided in Coos Bay city limits for at least one year, and cannot be a city employee. Letters should include a city of
Wreaking havoc Cleo Simmons, Coos Bay Joseph Paterewic, Coos Bay
Obituaries | A5
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Storm covers the north half of the state in snow and ice, causing roof collapses and three fatalities.
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COOS BAY — The City of Coos Bay is looking to find a civic-minded person to help fill a spot on its city council for an undetermined amount of time. City Manager Rodger Craddock says that, due to current health issues, Gene Melton has been unable to attend recent council meetings and work sessions. It’s believed that he will be away for a
“protracted period of time.” Craddock told the city council this week that the city charter provides that “during the temporary disability of any officer, the office may be filled by temporary appointment in the same manner as provided for filling vacancies permanently.” There have been seven instances since 1992 where a vacated council position needed to be filled. The most recent was in 2012. Councilor Joanie Johnson had resigned from
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DEATHS
BY TIM NOVOTNY
Coos Bay applicant information form (available on the city’s website), a brief summary of the work and community experience, education and the reason for interest. An attached resume is also acceptable. The letters will be accepted in the city manager’s office until 5 p.m. Friday, Feb. 28. Applicants can also email it to jmickelson@coosbay.org. Interviews will be held on SEE TEMP | A8
Rain likely 54/45 Weather | A8
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