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2023-2024
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Get Ready Guide 2023-2024
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FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 1, 2023
VOL. 132, NO. 17
Ensuring success for every student Serving the Lower Columbia Region since 1891
WILL LOHRE Country Media, Inc.
T
he new school year is fast approaching, and in preparation for kids back in the classroom, the Chief has reached out to the Superintendents of the Rainier and Clatskanie School Districts. Danielle Hudson is new to the superintendent job at Clatskanie School District (CSD). An early challenge has already been presented as Clatskanie Middle/High School’s (CMHS) start date has been pushed back from Sept. 5 and 6 to Sept. 11 for 7th and 9thgraders, and Sept. 12 for all other students due to construction delays. Rainier School District’s (RSD) first day will be Sept. 6. Let’s look at of the exciting developments and challenges the districts will face this year.
Courtesy photo from Danielle Hudson
Danielle Hudson is the new Superintendent for Clatskanie School District.
Clatskanie School District’s Danielle Hudson The Chief: In your welcome letter, you addressed four key priorities for the district in your first 90 days. Have you made progress in these areas as of yet? What has that looked like? Hudson: In my welcome letter, my four priorities were Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment, Integrated Guidance, Improved Attendance, and Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID). We are beginning to make progress in all of these areas, and I will highlight the progress below. Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment: All staff have received a Curriculum Exploration Survey, Instructional Resources Inventory, and Needs Assessment. The survey
Jeremy Ruark / Country Media, Inc.
Clatskanie Middle/High School students will have one more week of summer break due to construction delays.
will focus on 1) inventorying current instructional materials and 2) curating a list of recommended materials. This survey will focus on instructional materials for Social Sciences, Science, Tribal History/ Shared History, Adi’s Act (suicide prevention), and Erin’s Law (sex abuse prevention). By the end of August, we will have a database of
what materials are being used in classrooms and will use that database to determine curricular areas of need, which will direct CSD’s curriculum adoption process this school year. Integrated Guidance: This fall, CSD will be implementing a new brand for the district, which includes three maxims. The
maxims were generated from the Integrated Guidance Focus Groups with students, staff, and community members that took place in the spring of 2023. Through the Focus Group feedback, three traits of a Clatskanie graduate were identified, and those traits will become our district maxims for the 2023-24 school year.
Courtesy photo from Joseph Hattrick
Joseph Hattrick has been Superintendant with the district since June of 2020.
Improved Attendance: CSD administrators are utilizing the Attendance Works Toolkit to identify research-based strategies that have been shown to improve student attendance. District communications on social media have highlighted
See SCHOOL Page A6
Fairgrounds raising money for roofs WILL LOHRE Country Media, Inc.
Now that the summer months are coming to a close, and the Columbia County Fair has come and gone, fairgrounds officials have focused on addressing some of the much-needed repairs for the aging fairgrounds infrastructure. Fair Board President Peggy Howell said seven barn roofs need replacing at the fairgrounds. In 2022, it was announced that the fairgrounds would receive grant money to support building a pole barn and repairing the rusting metal roofs. Howell said that by the time the grant money came through, prices had increased so much on materials that repairing the roofs would not be possible. Howell said the cost of repairing each roof was about $56,000 when the project was initially bid about two years ago. Howell is a realtor with John L. Scott Real Estate, and she said that the company will host a fundraiser
The metal roofs on the fairgrounds barns are at least 50 years old.
Oct. 14 at the Fairgrounds Pavilion to try and raise enough funds to replace one of the seven roofs in need. “John L. Scott is having ‘Back to the West with John L. Scott,’
and it’s all a western theme,” Howell said. “We’re selling tables or individual [tickets], we’re having dinner and an auction, and we’re having a mechanical bull, and just trying to raise money. All the pro-
Jon Campbell / Country Media, Inc.
ceeds will go to the fairgrounds.” Howell said the roofs have been “rusting through” and that there are holes in some of them as well. Fair board member Henry Heimuller said that the roofs on the
barn are the original roofs from the fairground’s initial construction. “The fairgrounds was built in the late ‘60s, and those barns have been there some time since then. They were maybe built in the late ‘60s or early ‘70s, and they’re the original roofs,” Heimuller said. The metal roofs are at least 50 years old, and Heimuller said they are all very rusted. Though they are still watertight “for the most part,” Heimuller said that the westward-facing sides of the buildings are seeing their nails and fasteners wear out. One of the challenges for repairing some of the roofs now is that the metal is so old that it is precarious for workers to make repairs from the rooftops, according to Heimuller. Heimuller said getting the funds for the repairs will require “concerted effort” on a variety of fronts. Heimuller said securing grant funding would be a solution, in addition to smaller individual
See FAIRGROUNDS Page A3
Latest revenue forecast shows taxpayers to see $5.6B in credits Crossword ................ A2 Sports ........................ A3 Obituaries ................. A3 News and Views ...... A4 Classified Ads ......... A5 Legals ....................... A5
Contact The Chief Phone: 503-397-0116 Fax: 503-397-4093 chiefnews@countrymedia.net 1805 Columbia Blvd., St. Helens, OR 97051
JEREMY C. RUARK Country Media, Inc.
A robust state economy should allow Oregonians to see a large tax credit through the Oregon Kicker system, according to the latest state revenue forecast. Currently $5.6 billion will be returned to Oregon taxpayers next filing season. The median, or typical Oregonian is expected to receive a $980 credit. The kicker tax credit goes into effect when the actual state revenue exceeds the forecasted revenue by at least 2%. An amount is then returned to the taxpayers through a credit on their tax returns. The following is the September 2023 Oregon Revenue Forecast Executive Summary prepared by the Oregon Office of Economic Analysis. The economy continues to be in an inflationary boom. Growth is outpacing expectations. The good news is inflation has slowed considerably in the past year. The consensus of economic forecasters is now that the economic soft landing is the most likely scenario. The challenge today is twofold.
Metro Creative Connection
Currently $5.6 billion will be returned to Oregon taxpayers next filing season. The median, or typical Oregonian is expected to receive a $980 credit.
First, there are emerging signs that the economy is reaccelerating which means inflation could reheat at some point in the quarters ahead. Second, this leaves the Federal Reserve in a tough position of trying to thread the needle of raising interest rates just enough
to cool the economy and bring inflation down, but not too much that chokes off growth. The initial descent appears to have gone as good as can be expected. However, navigating the crosswinds of waiting for the full impact of past interest rate increases to slow growth
even as inflation remains above target is challenging. Oregon’s economic outlook remains effectively unchanged from last quarter. The labor market is tight, albeit less so than during the reopening phase of the cycle. And as inflation slows, income gains are once again outpacing price increases, leading to rising living standards. With the economy at full employment, future growth will come from labor force gains driven by a return of positive net migration in the years ahead, along with productivity gains driven by capital investment. The combination of the post-pandemic rise in start-up activity, large increase in federal investment, including in semiconductors, and the potential of generative AI should all help to boost productivity in the years ahead. Oregon is well-positioned to benefit. After several quarters of unexpectedly rapid growth in tax collections, Oregon’s state revenue outlook appears to have stabilized. Collections in recent months have
See REVENUE Page A6