|
In a time when there needs to be expanded educational opportunities, not reduced opportunities, it was sad to learn about the pending demise of the popular Cove Community School Collaboration.
The school will shut down at the end of spring classes after six years of service. It provided hands-on opportunities for students of any age from all of Union County in a truly astounding array of subjects. Lifelong learners learned everything from building dry wall to food and wine pairing, from welding to jazz music. There were life-enriching classes in building violins, caring for horses and dealing with insomnia. The variety of classes and the quality of instructors was truly astounding. It’s a credit to Coordinator Patti McLelland and others, who managed and supported the school.
But the entity was more than just an adult education school. The collaboration also provided supplemental art education in Cove schools, senior programs and indigent health care. Not all is lost. McLelland said the collaboration will help coordinate the establishment of a senior program as a stand-alone entity that will be run by a motivated group of seniors.
Unfortunately, further funding was not available from the City of Cove due to a wastewater project costing upwards of $1 million. There was some contention over whether the city should have funded lighting at Goodson Field instead of funding the collaboration, but there was fear the collaboration had not made enough progress toward being self-sufficient and would continue to need cash infusions for years down the road.
But rather than focusing on what went wrong, maybe it’s a good time to focus on what went right. And a lot did. Many organizations and individuals pitched in to make the collaboration work. The Ford Family Foundation provided start-up funding with a three-year grant. The Observer; KCMB Radio; Supertalk Radio; the Dottie Brown and Co. band; Home Health; Medical Teams International; Oregon Wireless; Jayne Puckett, Cove School District deputy clerk; many individual donors; instructors; volunteers; medical and dental clinic professional providers; and program participants all contributed to its success.
There are other educational opportunities for adults in Northeast Oregon, certainly. But the demise of the Cove Community School leaves a void that will be hard to fill.
|
Opinion 
