Federal Rules Force Career Center Change

To East Valley High School students, the issue is pretty simple: Officials are dropping the career center.

To East Valley School District officials, the issue is maybe not simple, but fairly straightforward: A change in federal rules is forcing the district to change the way it delivers career education and college advising.

The students’ view is inaccurate, says the high school principal.

“There’s absolutely no question that the career center is an integral part of the services we provide,” says Principal Jeff Miller. “We’re going to figure a way to provide the same services we’ve always provided.”

But a change is in the works for Shirley Olson, the popular woman whose name is nearly synonymous with East Valley’s career center.

Olson has enormous support at the school. When word got out about the coming changes, students sent out a petition. Several hundred students signed it; teachers wrote a letter of support.

“I kind of created this job,” Olson says. When her older children went through the process of applying to colleges, Olson knew nothing about the process. She learned, though, and developed a path for students to build a portfolio that shows them off to their best advantage. She helps them find opportunities ranging from four-year college scholarships, to trade schools, jobs or the military.

“Most people who do this charge money,” she says.

Jeff Aaseby and four other East Valley High seniors met with East Valley Superintendent Les Portner and then with Miller to ask the district to somehow keep the program, which is at least 10 years old.

“As seniors we wanted to make sure they kept it going for the juniors,” Aaseby said. “During Christmas break she went over to my buddy’s house and helped him fill out applications.”

Could someone other than Olson do the same job?

“Yeah, but it would have to be someone as willing to spend a lot of their time doing that,” Aaseby said.

Olson has been guaranteed a new job in the district.

Officials point out that, like it or not, teachers and aides sometimes receive new assignments. No one is debating Olson’s success.

Last year’s graduating seniors qualified for $2.5 million in scholarships. About half the class went on to at least start college, officials say.

“Shirley is very skilled and knowledgeable,” Miller says. “Her expertise isn’t going to jump to someone else in a New York minute.”

Next week, staff will start talking about how to reshape the career center, Miller says.

Counselors and teachers will probably become more involved in career awareness. Counselors may have to pick up the college and scholarship work. Indeed, that’s the way other Spokane Valley high schools handle college advising.

Olson’s pay for her career center work is $12,000 a year. She also earned an additional $4,000 a year for working with Natural Helpers, a peer-counseling group for students, until she resigned that position earlier this year. Counting her benefits, Olson’s compensation is about $20,000.

The guidelines for the federal grant that funds her position no longer allow that money to be used for salaries.

Can’t the district find $20,000 somewhere in its $30 million budget?

The answer is yes, says business manager Tom Crouch, “but there’s probably a hundred other requests for that money. Everybody’s got their pet program.”