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THE OREGON K-12 SYSTEM

One of the shortest but most potent bits of testimony offered before the House Committee on Education this session came at the end of an hour long hearing on legislation concerning our elementary schools. A motivated but impatient education advocate came to the witness table and put everything into eight words. “All we really need,” he told the committee, “is funding and leadership.”

The 2007 Legislature has responded with a substantial increase in basic operational funding, an additional school improvement fund for targeted needs, a statewide mentorship program for new teachers and administrators, and changes in contracts and services to increase efficiencies and make sure there are clear returns on Oregonians’ investments in our schools.

  • The K-12 Budget: approximately $6 billion is budgeted for school operations for 2007-09, the largest investment in many years, allowing for districts to add back educational offerings cut during the recession and reduce class sizes in many schools.
  • The School Improvement Fund: an additional $245 million is in the budget for targeted spending to meet specific needs in each district. Districts will apply for their share of funding, describing the needs to be addressed and the clear outcomes that the efforts will be judged by. Programs to be funded must be research-based approaches with successful track records in gaining the desired results. Since every district is different and has different needs, proposals can focus on a menu of approved programs, targeting areas ranging from early education reading efforts to high school retention projects. Every district in our state will have tools to make progress in the next two years.
  • Statewide Mentorship Program (HB 2574): given the fact that far too many new teachers drop out of the profession within 3 years, and given the fact that one on one mentoring programs for new teachers and for new administrators have proven to be clearly successful in retaining qualified professionals and helping to build their expertise, Oregon will have in place a statewide program in 2007-09 to bring the talents and skills of experienced teachers and administrators into the ongoing training of new education professionals. We have a wealth of experience in our veteran and retired teachers and administrators, and the mentorship program will make direct use of it to benefit our schools. This bill was sponsored by the Chalkboard Project and Stand For Children, and will have an immediate impact in our state.
  • Health Care Pool (SB 426): the 2007 Legislature has passed and the Governor has signed legislation creating a statewide health insurance pool for school employees. The pool is predicted to hold down and even possibly reduce health care costs for our school districts, fitting in with our ongoing goal of making sure every possible dollar has an impact in the classroom.
  • Civics & Financial Education: (HB 2584): as part of the Department of Education budget for 2007-09, a task force on Civics & Financial Education has been funded to study and make recommendations about how to increase and improve civics and financial education in kindergarten through 12th grade.
  • Performance Audits for best practices in Oregon Schools (HB 3141): while every school district has a financial audit each year, HB 3141 will put in place a schedule of performance audits at selected districts throughout the state to identify best business practices in planning, budgeting, transportation, personnel issues and other areas of district work. A best practices database will be established for easy access for all Oregon districts for the information needed to adopt proven best practices locally. In addition, HB 3141 includes additional funding for coordination of the programs for Talented And Gifted (TAG) students in our state, and will also provide funding for increasing hours of physical education offerings in our K-12 system.
  • Improved School Facilities (SB 336 and SB 1036): Planning and funding for school facilities received a boost with these two bills. SB 336 gives school districts a voice in community planning, allowing for the question of school capacity to be a consideration when new developments are proposed. SB 1036 allows school districts to impose a tax on new construction in their communities (exempting affordable housing projects, hospitals, public buildings and others) to fund capital improvements on school buildings. Both of these bills were worked on and agreed to by school advocates as well as the Oregon Homebuilders Association, another excellent example of the type of collaboration needed to support our schools.
  • Elimination of Golden Parachutes (SB 384): public confidence in our education system has been lessened by a handful of examples of far too extravagant payoffs to end a contract with a superintendent or other district official. While it is sometime necessary to end a contract to end a working relationship with an official who is not working out well for a district, the Legislature has now passed a ban on any kind of “golden parachute” package including substantial cash payments, cars, etc.
  • Student Database & Electronic Records: most all of us have gone through the experience of requesting and waiting for school transcripts when either moving to a new district or applying for a college or university. The 2007 Legislature has funded continued work on the development of a statewide database—the KIDS Project (Pre-K through Grade 16 Integrated Data Systems)— to allow for electronic transfers of student records, allowing for the transport of the information that is crucial for determining student status and possible placement.
  • Elimination of CIM/CAM (HB 2263): While some districts in the state embraced the CIM/CAM testing process for high school student assessment, the process was never fully funded nor fully accepted in Oregon. The 2007 Legislature, following the lead of the State Board of Education, has therefore removed CIM and CAM from Oregon education law, with the focus now turning to an increased effort to make sure that high school graduation requirements match seamlessly with college entrance requirements. HB 2263 clarifies graduation requirements, and the State Board, by rule, is working with districts to implement an additional year of science for all Oregon high school students, as well as to implement overall standards to ensure a well rounded education for each graduate.
  • The APIRE Program (HB 2729): a crucial key to making a successful transition from high school to college, or from high school to successful trade programs, is being put in place through the statewide expansion of the ASPIRE program. ASPIRE brings community members into a volunteer program where they are trained to assist junior and senior high school students during one on one mentoring to help the student research all post high school options, fill out applications, process all financial aid forms, and stay with the student step by step until the student has their first steps out of high school successfully completed. ASPIRE has a proven track record of significantly increasing the number of students attending higher education programs following high school graduation, and the expansion provided by HB 2729 will also leverage private funding to help thousands of Oregon high school students in 2007-08 and beyond. ASPIRE is an excellent way to inform students on the new format for the Oregon Opportunity grants, the Shared Responsibility Model (see below), which will help make the transition to Oregon Community Colleges and the Oregon University System.