At their June 15, 2023 meeting, the Corvallis School Board elected officers for the upcoming 2023-24 school year. Chosen as the new board chair, Luhui Whitebear.
Shauna Tominey and Terese Jones were elected as co-vice chairs.
Two newly elected board members were sworn-in, Chris Hawkins and Judah Largent, their terms will start July 1. Last month, Terese Jones and Sarah Finger McDonald were each re-elected to the board.
Board members said their thank yous and farewells to school board members Vince Adams and Tina Baker, whose terms ended this month and had been on the school board for ten and four years, respectively. Board member Tina Baker could not attend this final meeting of the year.
Boys & Girls Club Keeps Keeping on: There was a fire at the B&GC of Corvallis last Saturday, June 17, and as it turns out, the folks running the place aren’t letting that problem get in anyone’s way – all their programs for kids, teens, and families are still going on.
According to head honcho Helen Higgins, water damage from extinguishing the fire has only closed one of two gyms at the facility. No other facilities were affected. However, the largest impact may be financial as the Club learns the costs of repairs, and what the insurance company will or won’t cover. No matter what, there will be at least a $5,000 insurance deductible.
Now, dear reader, you know this newspaper, and just where we’re going with this, so here it is, we shamelessly ask that if you’re in a position to help, please do click here, and donate to the Club.
Obviously, we love the work B&GC does for families and kids here in C-town, and we hope you do too.
Also, Here’s the Latest Info on the Fire: Higgins said this was an electric arcing event that involved a solar panel installation atop the gym facility, which has a roof that’s rated for 90 minutes of fire resistance. Fortunately, a passing driver called 911 early on.
Higgins also disclosed that Peter Greenberg of Energy Wise will work to assess precisely what happened, but has already determined it was likely to be either a fault in the inverter, rapid shutdown or connector. Higgins also said Servpro has been working to mitigate the water damage.
Fortunately, because of the 90 minute roof, no fire entered the building, so the sprinkler system didn’t need to engage, which would have substantially increased the damage.
Safety Town has Openings: Have a kiddo entering Kindergarten – you can take them to the little workshop called Safety Town. Topics include fire safety, dog safety, water safety and more. Under the guidance of a teacher and teen instructors, children learn through hands-on activities, music, and field trips.
They even have a miniature town complete with pedal cars where children have fun learning pedestrian and car safety. Other topics include: stranger safety, traffic safety, bike safety, playground safety, pedestrian safety, seatbelt safety, animal safety, electrical safety, safety with crossing guards, poison control, dialing 911, and train safety.
And yep, this one is at the Boys & Girls Club, July 11th – July 21st, choose either 9:30 to 11:30 am, or 1:30 to 3:30 pm. $100. Our staffers have had kids in these classes, and the reviews were high praise all around. Click here for more information and registration.
Weekend Childbirth Class: This weekend childbirth education class is designed to prepare you to walk into your birth and new parent experience confidently. This class will help you view birth as a normal, healthy event and to help you build that confidence in your own body and its capability to birth. All the information is evidence-based and includes recommendations from major health organizations such as CDC, ACOG, and WHO.
Classes are at the Good Samaritan Regional Medical Center, Saturday and Sunday, Noon to 4 pm, July 8 and 9. A virtual option is also available. $110 per pregnant person (partner included). If you have Oregon Health Plan insurance (IHN or Pacific Source), your plan will cover this class at no cost to you. Click here for more information and registration.
High School Student Financial Literacy Effort: Oregon’s legislature has approved Senate Bill 3, which will require Oregon students to take a personal finance class in high school.
The bipartisan proposal, whose chief co-sponsors were Senate President Rob Wagner (D-Lake Oswego) and Senate Republican Leader Tim Knopp (R-Bend), will require high school students to take a semester-long personal finance class and a companion semester “life skills” course in order to graduate, starting in 2027.
“Everyone deserves the chance to get ahead financially and I’m excited that the legislature took this step to help our students,” said State of Oregon Treasurer Tobias Read. “We hope that this requirement will help generations of Oregonians be on a stronger footing as they navigate the financial landscape. I will continue to make financial empowerment and financial wellbeing a centerpiece of my administration and look forward to the law’s implementation.”
In the 1990s Oregon eliminated the requirement that students take a dedicated personal finance class.
In 2020, Treasurer Read launched the Financial Empowerment Advisory Team, which brings together Oregonians to highlight and better coordinate efforts to bolster financial capability, economic justice and equity, and financial education.
The collaboration yielded the first Oregon Financial Wellness Scorecard, a new Financial Wellness resource hub on Oregon’s 211 info network, and the new Oregon Financial Empowerment Awards.
The Financial Empowerment Program is part of the Oregon Treasury Savings Network, which provides tools to help the public save for education, retirement, emergencies and disability-connected costs.
The bill now moves to the governor’s desk.
And, in Education Funding: According to Oregon School Boards Association legislative analyst Jake Arnold, it’s been an eventful week.
The Senate Republicans reached a deal with Democrats and went back to work Thursday, June 15.
Hundreds of bills that likely would have been left for dead in a special session now have a chance to be heard, making for a wild scramble before the session must close Sunday, June 25. Bills that could affect schools through special education rules, workforce requirements and the Student Success Act are suddenly back in play.
Legislators made a deal on bills related to abortion, transgender health care and gun rights to allow bills to be heard again. The negotiations don’t appear to directly affect education funding, which has broad bipartisan agreement.
House Bill 5015, setting the State School Fund for 2023-25 at $10.2 billion, is one of many important budget bills that are anticipated to be passed out of the Joint Committee on Ways and Means this week.
It isn’t as much as education advocates sought, but it’s notably higher than where the Legislature started.
“We have mixed feelings,” said OSBA Legislative Services Director Lori Sattenspiel. “Given the economic climate at the start of the session, schools will be receiving significant funding. But some districts will still fall short of what they need to serve all their students adequately.”
Legislative Highlights has closely followed the trials and tribulations of education funding through its weekly “Funding Oregon’s Future” series. Education advocates have lobbied hard this session to get school district funding to levels that meet current needs.
In December, legislative analysts said schools would need a mere $200 million increase to $9.5 billion for 2023-25 to meet the inflationary costs of maintaining current staffing and programs. Education advocates countered that it would take at least $10.3 billion for most school districts to avoid painful shortfalls.
The Oregon Association of School Business Officials surveyed districts serving nearly 80% of Oregon’s students about their current contracts and expenses. Some districts needed a school fund higher than $10.3 billion to stay even and some required less. Education advocates settled on $10.3 billion as getting most districts to even or at least close enough that they could shore their budgets up with reserves or federal emergency funds.
The Legislature’s proposed budget in March proclaimed tightening state economic conditions with a planned $9.9 billion for the State School Fund. After a strong economic and revenue report in May, the Legislature bumped it up to $10.2 billion.
Increases in local revenue, mostly property taxes, will also help schools. The State School Fund is roughly two-thirds of schools’ general funds. Local revenue, the remaining third, has increased more than $100 million since OASBO made its estimate.
More than $4 billion in additional education funding for specialized purposes flows through HB 5014, the Oregon Department of Education’s budget bill. HB 5014 passed the House earlier this month. Like HB 5015, it will likely be worked in Ways and Means this week.
HB 5014 contains allocations for the Student Success Act and the High School Success Fund, known as Measure 98, that will receive a modest investment from the 2021-23 biennium. HB 5014 offers $325 million for Measure 98 grants and $1.087 billion for the act’s Student Investment Account that goes directly to districts.
HB 3198, Gov. Tina Kotek’s early learning bill, had aimed to siphon off some of the SIA money, though. After objections from education advocates, the bill was amended last week to change its reliance on funding from the Student Success Act.
Rather than counting on the Student Investment Account portion of the SSA accounts, the bill will be funded from Statewide Education Initiative Account reserve funds. The SEIA will also receive an infusion of about $90 million, for a total investment of $557.3 million, which should help cover district costs related to the bill.
School districts have mostly finished their budget processes, with contingency plans for different possible funding levels. The Legislature wrapping up business before the start of the new fiscal year gives them certainty as they make plans this summer for the next school year.
The Legislature isn’t completely done, though.
Sattenspiel says the Legislature always has what is known as “the Christmas tree bill” as one of its final actions. The Legislature moves a bill to square up all its budgets. It can sometimes add funding but it can also be used to slip in policies or shift around funding sources. In a session with so much work occurring in the final week, education advocates will be watching keenly, Sattenspiel said.
“There’s a lot of fuzzy math going on,” she said.
Do you have a story for The Advocate? Email editor@corvallisadvocate.com