By Melissa Wagoner During the spring conferences held on March 22, each family in the Mt. Angel School District was given a gift – a brand new copy of R.J. Palacio’s award-winning book, Wonder. “We saw a need, especially as we come out of COVID,” Middle School Principal Jeff Taylor said of the project, which he hopes will encourage a […]
By Melissa Wagoner On average, Mt. Angel School District enrolls three multilingual learners, whose first language is neither English nor Spanish, each year. But during the 2022-2023 school year, the district welcomed 25. “A lot of students in this group are somehow related to each other,” William Holman – the district’s English Language Development Program Teacher on special assignment – […]
By Stephen Floyd Mount Angel Mayor Pete Wall highlighted public infrastructure needs in his State of the City Address Jan. 2 before the Mount Angel City Council. Wall said the city must position itself to tackle multiple priorities, chief among them the wastewater, storm drainage, transportation and parks systems. As an initial step the council has scheduled a work session […]
By Stephen Floyd School officials in Gervais have discussed possibly dissolving their district if a facilities bond fails next year, which could lead to schools in Silverton and Mt. Angel absorbing Gervais students. Bond proposals for the Gervais School District suffered landslide defeats in 2022 and 2023, and the district’s board is considering a third attempt for May of 2024. […]
A $7 million facilities bond for the Mt. Angel School District passed with overwhelming support during the May 16 election, which also secured an attached $4 million state grant. Measure 24-482 passed with 64% voter support out of 869 total votes, according to results published May 24 by the Marion County Clerk’s Office. Superintendent Rachel Stucky said there was “a […]
Here is an overview of local candidates and measures on the May 16 ballot. To have your vote count, ballots must be submitted to an official site by 8 p.m. For a list of locations go to: co.marion.or.us/CO/elections/ and click on Ballot Drop Sites. Mt. Angel School District Position 1: Irene Novichihin, a retired educator with 31 years of experience […]
By James Day Kennedy High School in Mount Angel will have a new welding room in the fall, courtesy of a private fundraising campaign led by the Mt. Angel Community Foundation. The project, which broke ground on April 26, is not related to the facilities bond that Mt. Angel School District voters will be voting on in the May 16 […]
Dear Mount Angel Citizens: As your Mayor, I would like to share my thoughts on the upcoming bond election for the Mt. Angel School District. I have reviewed the projects that would be funded by the proceeds of the bond sale. They are very necessary improvements that will greatly improve the safety, security and school environments for our students. Passing […]
By Stephen Floyd Officials with the Mt. Angel School District say a $7 million bond measure is about improving critical infrastructure rather than giving buildings a facelift. It’s about needs, not wants, plus a one-time state-sponsored opportunity to get $11 million in repairs with a $7 million bond. School Board Chair Shari Riedman said the new bond is for improvements […]
By Stephen Floyd The Mt. Angel School District has placed a $7 million facilities bond on the May 16 ballot, with a $4 million state grant attached if the bond passes. The district board unanimously approved a resolution Feb. 13 to send the issue to voters based on a recommendation from the district’s Bond Oversight Committee. If the measure passes, […]
Local special districts will have open board positions during the May 16 Primary Election, and the deadline to apply as a candidate and appear on the ballot is March 16. Districts with open positions include: Mt. Angel School District (positions 1 and 4). Mt. Angel Fire District (positions 1, 2, and 3). Silver Falls School District (positions 1, 3, 6 […]
By Stephen Floyd School districts in Silverton and Mount Angel have identified racial and cultural inequity as areas that need greater focus, based on student performance rates published by the state last year. On Oct. 20, 2022, the Oregon Department of Education released its At-A-Glance reports, breaking down enrollment, test scores and other metrics for individual schools and districts. In […]
Local special districts will have open board positions during the May 16 Primary Election. The deadline to apply as a candidate and appear on the ballot is March 16. Districts with open positions include: • Mt. Angel School District (positions 1 and 4). • Mt. Angel Fire District (positions 1, 2 and 3). • Silver Falls School District (positions 1, […]
By Stephen Floyd The Mt. Angel School District (MASD) has closed a $1.2 million projected deficit in its budget for the coming school year without resorting to drastic cuts in staffing or programs. On May 16, the District Budget Committee approved a proposal that reduced the projected deficit to roughly $123,000, which can be covered by emergency reserves if actual […]
By Stephen Floyd The Mt. Angel School District (MASD) is considering deep cuts to programs and staff to cover a large budget deficit as enrollment continues to decline. Based on current estimates, the shortfall could be around $783,000 if there are no significant differences in enrollment between the current school year and the next. However, projections range between $682,000 and […]
By Stephen Floyd The Mt. Angel School District plans to go mask-optional March 14 after state regulators changed a deadline the district expected to fall at the end of the month. Oregon lifted its mandate on masks in public school buildings March 12, however MASD had made plans to carefully craft policy changes up to the state’s original deadline of […]
By Stephen Floyd The Mt. Angel School District is taking a more cautious approach than its neighbors ahead of the March 31 deadline to lift indoor mask mandates in Oregon schools. While the Silver Falls and North Santiam school districts voted to go mask-optional by March 31 and joined the call for an acceleration of the deadline, MASD Superintendent Rachel […]
By Stephen Floyd The Mt. Angel School District Board is seeking to fill a vacant seat after the recent passing of Board Member John Conklin. The board is scheduled to appoint a new member Feb. 14. Qualified residents have until Feb. 7 to apply. An appointee must be a registered voter, have lived within the district for at least one […]
By Stephen Floyd Mark Daniel was already a man of many hats when he became interim city manager of Mt. Angel on Sept. 1. The police chief/emergency manager/firefighter/EMT/DJ knew it was an unusual choice to add city administration to his many responsibilities. But the last four months have shown he was up to the task, with the coming year holding […]
By Brenna Wiegand Rachel Stucky takes the helm as Mt. Angel School District’s new superintendent, taking over for Troy Stoops who stepped down at the end of the last school year after filling the role for ten years. Stucky spent the last five years in the Sweet Home School District as chief academic officer and is eager to bring her skills […]
By Brenna Wiegand Mt. Angel School District Superintendent Troy Stoops is moving on after 10 years to take the helm at Junction City School District. “Junction City is about the size of Mount Angel – about 1,800 kids,” Stoops said. “Like Mount Angel, it’s a rural farming community in close proximity to the city.” Stoops officially retired from PERS (Public […]
After completing a multi-state search that began with 26 applicants and included an application screening and initial round of interviews, the Mt. Angel School District’s Board of Directors has announced two finalists have been selected for further consideration to be the next superintendent for the district. The public is invirted to meet the candidates May 17, 5:30 to 6:45 p.m. at […]
By James Day The Oregon School Activities Association has updated its plans for the 2020-21 school year. The upshot? The official calendar starts Dec. 28, with practices and features much shorter seasons. And football and other “fall” sports are moving to the spring. The decision of the OSAA’s executive board, announced Aug. 5, supersedes a previous outline, released July 22, […]
By Brenna Wiegand Since Oregon closed its schools in mid-March due to the spread of the highly infectious coronavirus, local superintendents have been on a wild ride, chasing after ways to maintain their responsibility to the students. Buildings may be closed, but teaching and learning needs to continue. Mount Angel School District Superintendent Troy Stoops says it’s new territory for […]
By Steve Ritchie How does a small school district retain students and teachers, meet students’ needs and provide a first-class education? With the help of a Department of Education School District Collaboration grant, the Mt. Angel School District is addressing these challenges. The district received $127,000 this year, and will get about $100,000 for 2016-17. Jasmine Winslow serves half-time as […]
