One Oregon School District After Measure 30 Failure - Eugene Register

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PLEASANT HILL - Last November, a team from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation paid a visit to Pleasant Hill High School. The foundation, which is funding an initiative to boost achievement by creating new small schools, knew Pleasant Hill's reputation for excellence and wanted to see it firsthand.

"Personalization has been honed to a fine art in Pleasant Hill," the team's summary said, praising the community's high expectations and the school's ability to deliver. It went on to list the wide range of elective offerings: vocal and instrumental music, art, forestry, newspaper, child development, French, Spanish, keyboarding, construction, culinary arts and metals.

Next fall, the home of the Billies may look very different. With Tuesday's failure of Measure 30, a statewide tax-increase referendum that would have staved off cuts to education and other government services, Pleasant Hill must trim some $600,000 next year, about 9 percent of its budget. With sagging enrollment, the district stands to lose $200,000 on top of that. Teacher layoffs and a shortened school year, or some combination thereof, are likely options, and there's even talk of a possible merger. "I can't keep things away from the classroom any longer," Principal Dennis Biggerstaff said.

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While Pleasant Hill High School still boasts miniscule dropout rates, strong test scores and an enviable array of electives for a small rural school, longtime teachers like Inman remember the gem it used to be. "It has changed subtly over time," he said, "but when you look at it over the whole time it's just sort of a glimmer, a pale image of its former self." Twelve years ago, the high school had 27 teachers; now it has 18. Gone are the drama coach, the athletic trainer, the librarian, and a drug and alcohol counselor, to name a few. Forestry and athletics are paid for almost entirely through grants and fund-raising."

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http://www.registerguard.com/news/2004/02/05/a1.30folo.0205.html