Oregon
Bend losing, Portland and Eugene winning: Large Oregon districts see mixed results from school levies
Ballots are processed at the Washington County Elections Office in Hillsboro, Ore., May 21, 2024.
Kristyna Wentz-Graff / OPB
Three of Oregon’s largest school districts had measures on the May ballot to either establish or renew levies in their communities.
Portland Public and Eugene appeared to have gotten a “yes” from voters. But others weren’t so lucky.
According to initial results this week, voters in the Bend-La Pine School District are rejecting a new tax levy that district leaders say is needed to maintain class sizes and staffing, add career technical education programs and more.
Bend-La Pine administrators warned voters before the election that if the levy didn’t pass, they’d have to eliminate up to 180 positions over the next two years, and average class sizes would likely increase by four students. They said counseling and support services would be stretched thin, and there would be a 30% reduction in building budgets.
Scott Maben, director of communications for the district, told OPB it’s too early to say if the school board will go back to voters any time soon.
“Superintendent [Steven] Cook will discuss the outcome of this election with the board at an upcoming board meeting,” he wrote in an email Wednesday, “possibly June 18.”
Maben said the district needs time to analyze the results of the election and listen to feedback from voters who did not support the levy request. He said there may be a variety of reasons it didn’t pass, and they want to look into that closely.
However, he acknowledged it wasn’t close. Results as of Wednesday morning showed about 57% of the votes cast were in opposition.
“That’s a clear message that voters are not in favor of adding a local option levy in our district at this time,” Maben said. “We certainly are disappointed in these results, as we believe the priorities we had identified for levy funding are important and deserving of additional investment.”
Local taxes have become a key source of funding for many Oregon schools. That’s especially important this year as districts across the region face tens of millions of dollars in budget deficits. Educators are losing their jobs, and in some cases, entire schools or districts are at risk of being closed.
It’s often easier for districts to renew existing levies — such as those in Portland and Eugene — than to introduce a new tax. In some parts of the state, passing taxes to support schools may fail repeatedly before a district is able to win the support of a majority of voters, as happened in the small Gervais district this election.
Maben said leaders in Bend-La Pine are also focusing their efforts on securing adequate state funding for the 2025-27 biennium.
“We are already deeply engaged in communicating with state leaders regarding the challenges of meeting the needs of our students with the current state of education funding in Oregon,” he wrote. “We will intensify these efforts as we approach the next legislative session.”
Maben said the future financial difficulties caused by the failed levy are separate from current budget conversations.
The school district has already built its proposed budget for the 2024-25 school year, which, like many districts across the state, reduces staffing and other spending. That budget will go to the school board next month for final approval.
The budget for the upcoming school year eliminates close to 60 positions across the district by eliminating vacant positions — rather than through layoffs. Maben said additional cuts may be necessary for the following 2025-26 school year as a result of the vote, but those conversations will be part of the budget process starting next January.
The good times keep on rolling for the Oregon Ducks in the recruiting world. Dan Lanning and the Ducks scored a massive commitment from five-star quarterback Will Mencl out of Chandler, Arizona.
Oregon had been rumored to be leading the race for Mencl’s services for months, but the No. 1 quarterback in the country, per Rivals, cleared the air and committed to the Ducks on Wednesday evening. Mencl chose the Ducks over Auburn and Penn State, both of which battled hard for him down the stretch.
However, Mencl has been connected to Oregon for a long time. While he was offered last fall before breaking out in his junior season, Mencl has been a fan of the program long before he popped up on the Ducks’ recruiting radar. In a post shared by Rivals recruiting expert Steve Wiltfong, Mencl was announced as a quarterback for the Ducks when he was a kid at the 2019 NFL Draft fan experience in 2019.
Now, Mencl is ready to don the green and yellow for real and make his childhood dreams come true. The Ducks have made a point to get Mencl on campus as often as possible and as recently as last week. The continued connection between both sides is ultimately what made the decision easy for the nation’s top passer. Mencl said he told Lanning and the Oregon staff about his decision on Sunday.
“The biggest thing was the relationship with the staff,” Mencl said after committing. “I feel like that continued to grow over time, especially when I first got there last spring. Being able to sit down with Coach Koa, really being an underlooked guy at that time, and kind of blowing up my junior season. And then, the path to the NFL. You can’t deny what they do with quarterbacks and the type of scheme they run. I felt like that was the best fit for me and my family to get to the next level.”
Koa Ka’ai, Oregon’s new quarterback coach, made waves earlier in the offseason after his recruiting test about ice cream flavors went viral, but that doesn’t appear to have scared Mencl off. In fact, the two have a close connection that Oregon hopes will translate to success on the field in the near future.
“My relationship with Coach Koa, I feel like that is super, super strong,” Mencl told Rivals. “I’ve had a lot of discussions with Coach Lanning about the culture there and how they’re going to continue to sustain greatness throughout the program.”
Mencl exploded onto the national recruiting scene with a massive junior season for Chandler. He completed more than 70% of his passes for 3,815 yards and 33 touchdowns against five interceptions in his junior season, leading Chandler to a state title berth. He also rushed for 741 yards and an additional 17 touchdowns.
The Ducks expect to have some competition for Mencl to compete with when he joins the team for the 2027 season, with Dylan Raiola and Akili Smith Jr. already on the roster and competing for a role as the backup. Oregon has gone to the transfer portal as well in recent seasons, finding success with Bo Nix, Dillon Gabriel, and now Dante Moore.
Oregon has recruited well at quarterback in the past, establishing an NFL pedigree that attracted Mencl. Maybe he will be the one to buck the trend and give the Ducks a true, homegrown product under center.
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‘Pour in the largest glass you can find while slow dancing in your socks,’ a Wine Enthusiast contributor said of an Oregon wine
PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) – Wine Enthusiast released a list of the top 40 sparkling wines around the world in 2026 – highlighting two bottles of bubbly from Oregon.
“While it can seem like you need a fortune to enjoy high quality sparkling wine, you honestly don’t. Excellent affordable bubbles are being produced around the world, often in places you might not expect. Each of the selections on our inaugural Top 40 Sparkling Wines list delivers personality, freshness, and celebration for under $75,” Wine Enthusiast wrote.
Wine Enthusiast divided its list into separate sparkling categories including, Champagne, Italian Bollicine, American sparkling and bottles $25 and under.
Snagging a spot on the American sparkling list: Corollary Wines in McMinnville.
Corollarly’s 2021 Momtazi Carbonic Rosé Pinot Noir scored 96 points from Wine Enthusiast.
“This is a Peter Max print of a wine, with vivid aromas and flavors to match the wine’s electric Kool-Aid color. It is filled to the brim with aromas and flavors of macerated strawberries, candied rose petals, apricots, and a bitter note similar to watermelon rind. Pour in the largest glass you can find while slow dancing in your socks,” wrote Wine Enthusiast contributor Michael Alberty.
The second Oregon winery to earn a spot on the list: Lytle-Barnett in Dundee.
Wine Enthusiast also gave Lytle-Barnett’s 2018 Brut Rosé Pinot Noir Chardonnay 96 points.
“Bubbles as persistent as an eight-year-old with a question deliver aromas of dried rose petals, macerated strawberries, and a touch of fresh hay and talc. This 70/30 Pinot Noir and Chardonnay blend is packed with flavors of lemon zest, Honeycrisp apple slices drizzled in caramel, and a dollop of raspberry,” Alberty wrote.
The nods to Corollary and Lytle-Barnett come as the wineries recently helped launch Method Oregon, a nonprofit made up of 50 Oregon wineries aiming to turn Oregon into a global sparkling wine destination.
A 73-year-old man was sentenced on Tuesday to 20 years in prison for the 1983 killing of his then-girlfriend. It was a case that went unsolved for more than 40 years.
The sentence was announced by Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield.
In July 1983, Teresa Peroni, 27, was reported missing after attending a party in the Selma area of Josephine County southwest of Grants Pass. She was last seen walking in the woods with her boyfriend Marcus Sanfratello.
Authorities deemed Peroni’s disappearance suspicious, but they lacked evidence to bring charges against anyone.
In 1997, a human skull was found on private property near where Peroni disappeared. In 2024, authorities in Josephine County reopened the case. In addition to re-interviewing witnesses, they collected new DNA evidence to build a case against Sanfratello.
With the DNA, experts at the University of North Texas confirmed the skull was Peroni’s.
PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Man arraigned on murder charge in Oregon for death of then-girlfriend in 1980s cold case
A grand jury indicted Sanfratello of second-degree murder, on June 27, 2025.
Police arrested Sanfratello in Chico, California the next day. He was then extradited to Oregon to face the charge of murder.
Under a plea agreement, Sanfratello pleaded guilty to first-degree manslaughter.
He will serve at least 10 years in prison, Oregon’s attorney general’s office said.
“For Teresa Peroni’s family, this has been a 43-year wait for an answer they never should have had to wait for,” Rayfield said in a news release. “Cases like this remind us of why we don’t give up. It doesn’t matter how many years have passed — if someone took a life, we’re going to keep working until we can hold them accountable.”
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