Editorial
School district needs
to prepare for influx
of families, students
Numbers can change in the blink of an eye. We remember doing stories
just a few years ago that showed the Canby School District was in fine shape, and no new
school buildings would be required in the foreseeable future.
The district projected being at or below capacity at most schools, but not over. The most
recent study by Portland demographer Judy Barmack shows otherwise.
Trost Elementary School is bursting at the seams with students, and Ackerman Middle School
and Canby High School are nearing their capacities.
The district board of directors could move boundaries around, as it did a few years back
when it moved students to the rural schools - Carus and Ninety-One elementary - which are
under capacity.
But that is an unpopular option. There has been talk of making those schools with room for
students "magnet" schools. Specialized instruction would be offered in areas
such as art to draw students who want that type of instruction.
The board will likely begin searching soon for a new middle school site. The district owns
a chunk of land on the southeast corner of Territorial Road and North Holly Street, which
is a possible site. Or will it trade land for a spot elsewhere in the city, as it has done
before?
Whatever the decision, it will need to be made sooner rather than later. There are few
large pieces of land available in the city's urban growth boundary that are suitable for a
school site.
The board has set a meeting in March to discuss the possibility of a new school and
enrollment issues. If the situation is as dire as it sounded at Thursday's board meeting,
perhaps that work session should be held next week.
But the numbers can change, apparently. How firm are projections? The number of new
houses, soon-to-be-built homes and multifamily projects in Canby's exploding southeast
sector paint a pretty obvious picture for the immediate future. More people are coming.
More families with kids are coming.
If urban renewal takes off in Canby, there likely will be more families seeking
better-wage jobs, and they will fill those homes and demand more.
If the district board's work session was held tomorrow, it would be OK with us.
|
Letters to the editor
Humbug does not
exist in this town
To the editor:
President Jimmy Carter told one of his grandchildren, "Helping others is the rent we
pay for our room on this Earth.
" If this is the case, the Canby American Legion and American Legion Auxiliary would
like to thank the citizens and businesses of our community for their selfless giving to
help families in our community enjoy a more joyous Christmas and a brighter New Year.
You who gave so much have more than paid your rent: 4th Quarter Sports Grill, Steel
Storage Systems, Jarboe's Grill, Wayne Oliver, Blacker Electric, Spinning Wheel, Canby
Electric, Canby Car Wash, Top O' Hill restaurant, Jim Brown, Shelly Spanogenberg, Fisher
Supply, Adrian and Kay Fisher, Tom Jewell, Dean Sempert, Hulbert's Flowers, Mike Harms,
HiWay Tire, Roger Miller, Fisher's Old Fashioned Meats, Top O' The Hill RV, Roth's IGA;
Ace Hardware, Jim and Sandy Gurney, Joe Schweighardt, Kathy Fraser, Jack Taylor, Barry and
Christian, Marcie, Tammy Whitney, Ernie's Barber Shop, Delbert and Karen, Jane Chew, Lex
and Heidi Burghduff, Park Avenue Salon, International Hairways, Jeannette Meyer, Elsie and
Ike Edwards, Bob and Virginia Biddle, Ken Gunder, and Susie Voss.
A special thank you to committee members of this project: Juanetta Gunder, Barbara
Anderson, Lisa Onion, Joni Cramton, Debbie Weiss, Paula Larios and Jerry Mendenhall.
Thank you to one and all.
Juanetta Gunder, public relations chairman
Canby American Legion Auxiliary 122
Principal thanks folks for
using Trost track
at proper times
To the editor:
On behalf of the students and staff of Trost Elementary, I would like to thank the
citizens of Canby who have been using the Trost track before school and after school.
As you know, we have a closed campus from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
This allows our students to have a safe and secure environment. We appreciate the
partnership in the community that this has created.
Roxa Hawkins, principal
Cecile Trost Elementary School Canby
|
