PIO228 by C.M.I.

Indy

Sports

Indy’s F Street Bridge receives engineering excellence Award See A2

Hot streak powers Panther into playoff picture See B1

Wednesday February 28, 2024 | Volume 148, Issue 09

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Superintendent delivers first round of pink slips By DAVID HAYES Itemizer-Observer

Dallas School District Superintendent Steve Spencer executed what he said was one of the more unpleasant demands of his job Feb. 16. He hand delivered pink slips to 34 employees district wide required in the wake of a $3 million budget shortfall next year. Spence said Dallas isn’t the only district facing budgetary challenges, pointing to Salem-Keizer which is also making significant cutbacks to their own staffing. He said the funding crisis in Dallas can be attributed to two major factors: a decline in enrollment within the Dallas School District and the conclusion of Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) funding, also known as COVID relief. According to the Oregon Statewide Report Card, public schools statewide have seen a decline in regular attendance in 2022-23, with the rate falling 2.0 percent from 2021-22. Rates of regular attendance remain significantly below pre-pandemic levels. “We know that students aren’t benefiting from instruction when they are not in the classroom, so this is a serious concern for Oregon’s educators,” the report stated. In February of 2019-20, the Dallas School District attendance was 4,116 (1,226 elementary and 2,890 secondary). Attendance last month was down to 3,596 (1,035 elementary and 2,561 secondary), a loss of 520 students. That equates to a $5.2 million loss to the district coffers. Spencer said the Average Daily Membership rate per student is approximately $10,000. From 2019 to 2024, the state allocated just over $8 million in ESSER funding to the DSD. Spencer said about $1 million of that went to district charter schools and another $6.4 million has been spent without prospects of renewal. “We knew they would eventually end in the 2024-25 fiscal year, so we began to reduce the number of FTE paid out of that fund in 2022-23,” Spencer said. The reduction in state funds and student population led to a $3 million shortfall for the upcoming 202425 school year. Spencer explained to address this challenge and present a balanced budget to the school board in April 2024, collaborative efforts have been See DALLAS, page A7

New Dragon’ s Dynasty Dallas High School wins third ever state wrestling title

PHOTO CONTRIBUTED

The Dallas High School boys wrestling team celebrates after winning the Oregon State Wrestling 5A Championship Feb. 24 at Portland Veterans’ Memorial Coliseum. It is the program’s third ever title, and first since 2018. The girls’ team also placed second in state. See story, page B1.

Monmouth duo deliver inspiration Get your hands dirty one bracelet at a time at new pottery workshop

By LANCE MASTERSON For The Itemizer-Observer

Timing, they say, is everything. Emiliano Alarcon and Vianney Rodriguez came out of the COVID lockdowns determined to help athletes that were struggling with their mental health. They decided they could help these athletes via bracelets that were inscribed with words of inspiration. “The bracelets are similar to tattoos in that you know it’s there. You know what it says, what it means to you. How it helps you,” Alarcon said. “So you just need to either remember it’s there, or take a deep breath, look at it really quick and reset.” Alarcon and Rodriguez took their idea seriously enough to form Vencer Co. They opened their first store in Monmouth on Black Friday. They’ve maintained an online presence for several years now. “Vencer, in Spanish, means ‘to overcome.’ So, that’s kind of the whole meaning behind the name of our company,” Alarcon said. “Vencer Co is geared toward athletes, and to bring awareness to the mental health struggles they deal with on a daily basis.” Alarcon knows first-hand the pressures athletes face. He attends Western Oregon, where he is on the baseball team and majors in psychology. He was also on the Linn-Benton Community College team when the 2020 season was lost to COVID.

By DAVID HAYES Itemizer-Observer

Standing inside her new, spacious pottery studio, Pots & Whatnots, Sandra Dickman knew she was on to something three years prior while trying to pursue a creative hobby. The newly arrived Dallas resident discovered an outlet after playing with a pottery wheel, but also found it hard to find nearby classes. “They were always full and the PHOTO BY LANCE MASTERSON ones I was taking were an hour A desire to help athletes who are struggling with their menaway,” Dickman said, adding the tal health led Emiliano Alarcon and Vianney Rodriguez to nearest were in Portland or Albanystart their own company, Vencer Co. Alarcon and Rodriguez Corvallis areas. “I thought if I was grew up in the area and are graduates of Central High willing to drive an hour away and School. their classes are always full, why wouldn’t people be willing to drive be more intense than the struggles Something was amiss when play to Dallas?” resumed following the lockdown, he experienced by non-athletes. The first step was purchasing a According to the NCAA, college said. pottery wheel and kiln and exper“When we got back to it in 2021, athletes report “elevated levels of iment within her garage. Gaining mental health concerns.” These I noticed that things were different. concerns include anxiety and depres- confidence, she began giving lessons With how isolated we were. With sion, which remain up to two times to family and friends. how different things were. I noticed “higher (in athletes) than identified “I can do this. I can actually a lot of my teammates lost their love before the COVID-19 pandemic.” teach people to do this.,” Dickman for the game. Guys that I thought The ease that comes with wearing thought. “They were like, ‘Yeah, it’s were going to play baseball the rest a bracelet makes it ideal for athletes of their lives,” he said. super fun. When can I come over seeking an inspirational boost. They Alarcon’s observation is supported and do it again?’” can wear it during competition. by studies that show athletes are far from immune to post-COVID struggles. In fact, their struggles may See HELP, page A7

See POTTERY, page A8

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