The Mac Report
From Rep. Greg Macpherson

The primary election lies behind us. The general election ballots won't be mailed for four months. This period in Oregon is as politically quiet as an election year gets. My wife and I spent five days in late May hiking 40 miles along the wild and scenic section of the Rogue River. Seeing that dramatic landscape and its wildlife reminded us what a wonderful gift Oregon is. But as enjoyable as I found the break, I question whether this down time is good for our politics. Holding our primary and general elections so far apart forces candidates to inform and energize Oregon voters all over again in a separate campaign.
- Representative Greg Macpherson

Examining the long summer break
Oregon school year shorter than most

This week Oregon schools close out the 2005-06 academic year. Students are celebrating with year end activities and shifting to a summer schedule.
Ending the school year in mid-June follows a long- observed calendar. But as state representative for Lake Oswego, Riverdale, and part of southwest Portland, I question whether we should continue doing things a certain way just because we've always done so.

The school year that runs from early September until mid-June arose when Oregon was mainly an agricultural state. Students on summer break picked berries and beans, bucked hay bales, and drove combines.

I recall that one year in the 1960's the Albany public schools, where I was a student, delayed the start of the school year because the local green beans matured late. Students were needed in the fields in September to get the crop in.

Oregon has changed from those days. Agriculture is no longer central to the state's economy. Some crops picked by hand then are now picked by machine. Immigrant workers, rather than local teenagers, now do most of the hand picking that remains.

This new reality raises the question - should Oregon schools continue to take a 2 ½ month summer break? Education experts say students lose ground over those months as skills learned the year before get rusty by summer's end.

School buildings and grounds represent a major capital investment by the community. Closing them all summer leaves that investment idle for an extended time.

The length of the school year is not left entirely to the choice of local districts. The state of Oregon requires a minimum number of instruction hours that varies by grade level. The minimum averages about 175 days across all levels. Most districts aim to exceed the minimum by several days, but weather closures can trim some of those off.

A minimum of 175 days in the school year places Oregon behind most states. A minimum year of 180 days is required by 30 states and a few days more than 180 in five others. Only five states have a minimum school year shorter than 175 days.

The contrast is more dramatic when Oregon is compared to other countries. In Japan, for example, the school year lasts 240 days and in China about 200.

The shortness of Oregon's school year may be less troublesome in homes where families find summer activities for their children that have an educational dimension. But in other homes the summer represents down time, spent with television and video games.

Monday I spoke to a class at Lake Oswego High School about this question. Clearly ready for summer break now, most of the students didn't like the idea of extending the school year.

At the same time, they recognized the importance of remaining competitive and the need for adequate resources for education. One student said, "If you fund it, I'll go!”

In the Education Act for the 21st Century, Oregon's 1991 legislature stated the goal of producing the best educated citizens in the nation and the world. One wonders whether that is possible as long as we have one of the shorter school years.

Macpherson initiates Mac Youth Report

Young people will inherit the results, both good and bad, of the decisions made by today's elected officials. Because they have the greatest stake in what we do, I try to involve youth in public issues whenever I can.
This spring I published the first edition of the Mac Youth Report, an electronic forum for articles by young people. The articles in the first edition were written by students in the Political Action Seminar at Lake Oswego High School. One of those articles is set out below. I encouraged the students to express their own views in order to get the reader thinking about the issues they care about.

I plan to do more Mac Youth Reports after school starts again in September. I find it works best if it's organized within a high school class that covers public issues. If you would like to get your school involved, please reply with the name and contact information for the teacher.

Gas prices and the environment
- By Christi Moscicki, Grade 10

It's time we all faced the facts: gas prices just aren't going to go down, as much as we all wish they would. Just last month in Beaverton, there was a huge lineup of cars at one particular gas station because they were charging a few cents less for gas than other gas stations in the area. It doesn't really help when you're driving an SUV that only gets around fifteen miles per gallon.
On my way to school every morning, there's a long line of people in SUVs and minivans and other cars that guzzle gas, just waiting at the light to turn into the high school parking lot. Not only does it take a couple light cycles at most while I'm idling at this four-way intersection, waiting to get to school, but the vast numbers of nearly-empty cars are only contributing to the destruction of the environment. Most of the cars I see on my way to school not only hardly get a modest gas mileage, but there's rarely more than two or three people inside them. We can save money on gas and protect the environment (not to mention reduce traffic) by carpooling to work and school. We need to look into ways of getting around that are more functional and environmentally friendly than they are trendy status symbols.

If you have a big car like an SUV or van, you can fit about five to seven people (sometimes more) in it. So you could haul several of the neighborhood kids to school in your car, and alternate with other parents every day or every week so no one gets stuck doing all the driving. Student drivers: take turns driving your friends or other kids who live in your area to school. Or ride a bike. Or take public transit.

Another option, if you're financially able, would be to invest in a smaller, practical car that uses less fuel, like Hondas or Toyotas, so you don't have to drive an SUV all the time. You could also look into Hybrid cars. However, these can be very expensive, and are definitely an investment, so think carefully before you buy.

If you can't afford to buy a new car, there's always motorized scooters. Although you will have to get a special license to drive one, they do get excellent gas mileage, and they look pretty cool too! Piaggio Vespa scooters are advertised as getting at least 65 miles to the gallon. One Vespa owner said that hers gets 72 mpg. Now that's a lot of distance covered on just one gallon of gasoline. You can fill the tank for the price of a couple lattes at Starbucks, a LOT less than you're paying to fill up your Explorer.

Remember, oil is a nonrenewable resource. At the current rate of the planet's fossil fuel gluttony, it's hardly going to be a sustainable resource in twenty or thirty years. We need to take charge of our actions now to protect the planet - and our wallets.

email: rep.gregmacpherson@state.or.us
phone: (503) 635-2648
web: http://www.leg.state.or.us/macpherson/