Family Spotlight

In a few days we should know the outcome of the vote on the Bend-La Pine Schools Learning Levy. If you have not yet cast your ballot, we encourage you to mail it or return it by Tuesday, May 21, the date of the primary election.

Over the past couple of months we have shared details about the proposed 5-year property tax levy, which would represent about 9 percent of the district’s operating budget. If you have not yet looked at the details of Measure 9-167, there’s still plenty of time. Here’s how:

The Voters’ Pamphlet (Page 9-15) mailed to voters in April. It’s also online: CLICK HERE

We have a Learning Levy information page on our website: CLICK HERE

WATCH THIS VIDEO for additional details on the levy.

The Learning Levy on the ballot this month is something not attempted here in 20 years. Local levies are working in many other school districts in Oregon – including Sisters, Beaverton and Eugene – as communities choose to invest more in the education of their children. Faced with insufficient state support for public schools, we believe it’s right to ask our voters for help.

Measure 9-167, our Learning Levy, would provide the district five years of additional funding at a critical time. Our operating costs have steadily increased while state support has been uneven and unpredictable. Oregon’s education funding model, based on weighted student enrollment, doesn’t adequately meet the needs of our students. Federal emergency funds that school districts received through the pandemic dry up in a few months.

Yet our students show us they need more academic support, help with mental health issues, and development of interpersonal skills than they did before COVID. Without passage of this levy, we will likely eliminate 180 staff positions and scale back student services – reductions that will impede our ability to focus on what students need most.

These stakes are real, but the proposed Learning Levy is not all about averting painful cuts. We also can build on the success of programs that are proven engines for student success. Career Technical Education classes, for instance, where students can explore engineering, agriculture, culinary arts, criminal justice and more. Another area where students thrive is the performing arts, visual arts and music classes. Many students are drawn to advanced academic courses and ones which offer them college credit. We have all this now, but in limited ways across schools and grade levels. Our students and families are telling us we can do better, and we agree.

Steve Cook, Superintendent, Bend-La Pine Schools

1. We can avoid cuts that will set back our progress toward student success and meeting the most pressing needs of our learners.

2. We can ensure our students get into classes that fulfill their purpose, passions and plans for life after high school, and connect them with promising career opportunities in Central Oregon.

3. This levy will help us recruit and keep highly qualified educators, administrators and support staff across 33 schools, and make Bend-La Pine Schools an employer of choice in our region.

4. The proposed rate of $1 per $1,000 would cost a homeowner about $20 a month, on average.

5. We have a commitment to track, audit and report how every dollar of the levy is spent each of the five years it’s in place. This includes oversight by community members who volunteer to serve on our budget committee.

The countdown is on to the last day of the 2023-24 school year but we’re already looking to the future! School calendars for the 2024-25 are available now.

Bend Tech Academy students hosted a workshop in April for over 80 high school students across five Bend-La Pine high schools to build their skills as youth leaders in their Sources of Strength programs. Filling Bend’s Aspen Hall, students developed a sense of community together by playing games, sharing ideas for mental health promotion projects, and planning a district-wide Sources of Strength theme for the 2024-25 school year.

Teams shared mental health projects, thankfulness challenges, trusted adult campaigns, food drives, messages of hope, and more. The final activity invited students to brainstorm a theme that all Sources of Strength programs can use for the 2024-25 school year. After presenting each group’s ideas, students voted for their favorite theme - “Better Together.”

The students’ time together is commemorated in a painting of a tree covered with many colorful handprints. These students are truly better together.

Student Winners:

Gunther Karle, La Pine High School

Peyton Thrasher, La Pine High School

Jay Beagles, Mountain View High School

Staff Winners:

Kelly Peters, Bend Tech Academy

Stuart Johnson, La Pine Middle School

Lani McQuilkin, Amanda Armstrong, and Lindsay Seibel, Deschutes County Health Services

Team Winners:

La Pine Middle School Sources of Strength Team

This honor is given by Matchstick Consulting, Oregon Health Authority’s contractor leading the Sources of Strength program. The Bend-La Pine Schools Sources of Strength programs are supported by the Healthy Schools partnership with Deschutes County Health Services.

We are so proud of all our student Green Teams, at Pine Ridge Elementary and other schools in the district, for their leadership and hard work to reduce food waste, divert table scraps from our landfill, and teach their peers about recycling, composting and other sustainability actions.

The work goes far beyond Earth Day. Read all about it in the Bulletin!

Is your teen a helper?

Youthline is a free teen-to-teen help, support and crisis line that operates every day from 4-10 p.m. Youthline is recruiting students for their Volunteer Program and Work Study program. A high school student can train to be a Peer Crisis Intervention Specialist. Students must be 15-24 years old and able to commit to one 3.5-hour shift per week.

Volunteers in this position answer calls, texts, and chats from teens reaching out. The student will receive 63 hours of free and comprehensive training, including certification in Youth Mental Health First Aid, SafeTALK, and Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training (ASIST), as well as ongoing personal and professional development.

Working on their lines provides students an opportunity to learn and gain experience in crisis intervention and de-escalation tactics and is a great way to earn internship credits and/or service hours! It also looks great on resumes or graduate school applications. If interested, text “ORVOL” to 85511, email YouthL@linesforlife.org or check out their website to learn more.

You cannot debate the exceptional performances by the Summit High School and Bend Senior High School speech and debate teams at the OSAA State Championship Tournament at Western Oregon University!

Summit took FIRST place in the 5A Division! Wes McGovern earned FIRST place in both Extemporaneous Speaking and Lincoln-Douglas Values Debate. They qualified 10 students to compete.

The Lava Bears followed with SECOND place overall. Wins included Julian Riker and Tessa Baraybar’s first place overall in Duo Interpretation and Baraybar’s second place win in humorous interpretation.

The National Speech & Debate Association will take place in Des Moines, Iowa on June 16-24.

Explore the pathways created by Career Technical Education at two high school CTE showcases!

Caldera High - Wednesday, May 22, 5:30-7:00 p.m.

Bend Senior High - Thursday, May 23, 5:30-7:30 p.m.

Innovative projects highlight student skills, experience, and knowledge of their career pathways. Discover the exciting learning opportunities provided by each school.

At Caldera, families, students of all ages, industry partners, and community members are invited to view and experience over 40 unique projects including video games, construction projects, business ventures, engineering prototypes, photography, health demonstrations, and much more.

At Bend High, engage with students and enjoy booths featuring their creations. Selected pieces from welding and woodworking will be available for purchase, while others can be won in drawings. Additionally, the business program's student stores will be open, and the culinary program will offer delicious food for purchase.

Don’t miss Arts Night at Summit High School on Tuesday, May 21, 5-7 p.m. The Art Department event features work from the fine art, ceramics, sculpture, photography, graphic arts and AP studio classes. Students, parents and the community at large are invited to attend. There will be student artwork for sale along with a silent auction. Entry is a suggested $5 per person and $20 per family. Proceeds fund the department’s never ending supply and equipment needs.

The Board of Directors for Bend-La Pine Schools will hold its next work session on Tuesday, May 28 at 5:30 p.m. at the Education Center, 520 NW Wall Street in Bend. The next regular School Board meeting is on Tuesday, June 18 at 5:30 p.m.

For information about board members, meetings and agendas, please visit our School Board page.

Are you curious which district policies and regulations are currently under review? To see proposed changes and give feedback on new language, click here.