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CLEAR Temp: 72 °F Wind: N at 10 mph Tuesday, May 20, 2003 SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map EXTRA HomeLife Magazine W3 Magazine Jobs @ Mail Tribune Tempo A & E Oregon CarZone Wellness Connection Real Estate Newspaper in Education Prime Times Outdoor Journal Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People CLASSIFIEDS Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Find Everything E SOUTHERN OREGON Automotive Communities Entertainment Publications Recreation Calendar ABOUT US FAQ What's New Advertise Home Delivery Classified Ad Contact Us Media Kit Email Story to a Friend March 11, 2003 North Medford High School entrance at 9:13 a.m. Monday. Silence sounds in classrooms and hallways on Monday By JILL BRISKEY Mail Tribune Instead of a classroom bell, the only sound to echo across Abraham Lincoln Elementary School early Monday morning was the honking of Canada geese. Inside the deserted building, Principal Bob Hartwig ignored the frigid air as he bustled about his office. "What’s different is what you don’t hear. It’s quiet," Hartwig said. "Obviously, this is a good day to catch up on your work." Monday should have been a typical day at Jackson County’s schools. March 10 did not fall on a holiday, and no in-service day was scheduled. But 22 schools in the Medford and Rogue River districts were locked up tight, devoid of students, teachers, counselors, secretaries, cooks. State revenue shortfalls have forced every Jackson County school district but Prospect to slash up to 10 days from the school year to balance their budgets. Districts are turning off lights and heat on those days to save even more pennies. District employees — from superintendents to janitors — took a salary cut of up to 5 percent to plug gaping deficits. "Over 1,000 employees are not getting any salaries for those days," said Medford Superintendent Steve Wisely, who planned to spend Monday on the coast with his family. "Given that, we’re encouraging teachers not to do anything other than assist parents with ideas (to help students keep up)." Jim Bond, Oregon Education Association representative for Medford schools, agreed with Wisely that teachers shouldn’t work on cut days. "It makes sense. We don’t want our culture to become that teachers will work for free," said Bond. "But I would think, that knowing the folks like I do, they’re home doing work." One of the teachers who planned to work without pay Monday was Brad Holtz, a science instructor at Rogue River Middle School. "The kids have lost a lot of the focus. It takes them longer to get back in the swing of it after a day off," said Holtz. "I’m trying to fit more in, with less time." At least a dozen Medford teachers voluntarily worked at their schools on Monday without pay, but most buildings remained vacant. The teachers who did work declined to comment on their reasons. Howard Elementary School’s library and computer room, usually a bustling center of activity, was so quiet the ticking of the wall clock could be heard in the hallways. Inside South Medford High School’s cafeteria — normally teeming with chattering students from 11:40 a.m. to 12:40 p.m. — empty metal lunch tables gleamed in the pale afternoon sunshine. With her footsteps echoing in the hallway at Washington Elementary School, Principal Stephanie Johnson joked about a ghost that supposedly haunts the second floor of the building. Although Johnson said her empty school has never produced a case of goose bumps, she added that silence just didn’t seem right on Monday. "It is awfully quiet," Johnson said. "Without all the children, this isn’t a school. It’s just a building." Reach reporter Jill Briskey at 776-4485, or e-mail [email protected] Printer Friendly Version Email Story to a Friend Subscribe Archive: Click to Search Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright © 1997-2003 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions Website Feedback A D V E R T I S E R S