Red For Ed Day
Around the state today teachers have planned walk-outs and protests to pressure legislators to provide more school funding, Siuslaw schools will be in full operation according to School Superintendent Andy Grzeskowiak. He says that teachers will be wearing red today in support of funding for schools and plan to greet students, parents and visitors before morning classes and after school hours some plan a “grade in” at a couple of local eateries. Classes, games and activities will occur as scheduled today. Teachers state-wide are attempting to encourage lawmakers to pass a 2 billion dollar corporate tax package to add additional funds to the schools. Republican senators performed a walkout of their own yesterday stalling a vote on the tax and leaving notes on their abandoned desks that call for real PERS reform now.
City Works on Biennial Budget
All this week the city council and the city budget committee are meeting together to iron out the biennial budget. The budget encompasses all planned city expenses for the next two years along with a list of proposed items that the city wishes to accomplish. These meetings continue tonight at 6:30 and tomorrow night at 5:30 at city hall and are open to the public. According to city Manager Erin Reynolds the document can look a little daunting at just over 200 pages, but it is reader friendly.
201: “it’s broken up into bite sized pieces so people can read through it, there is a great narrative, a lot of pictures and data that goes on to support the actual numbers that are in the proposed budget.”
The City Council hopes to approve the budget in June.
Safe Boating Week Upcoming
National Safe Boating week begins after Rhody days. May 18 through the 24th has been designated as a time to promote safe boating. The U.S. Coast Guard Siuslaw Station is helping to promote safe boating. According to statistics more than 650 people die annually while boating and drowning is responsible for 4 out of 5 deaths in boating accidents. 84.5% of those that drown are not wearing life jackets. Several events are planned for that week including boat safety checks and life-jacket exchanges.
