Legislative Highlights InspireInspire •• InformInform •• InvolveEngage February 4, 2011 Gov. Kitzhaber’s Mandate relief bills need your support 2011-13 budget As part of our OSBA legislative prior- (a) File any substantial changes, as de- ity of shared accountability, OSBA led a termined by the district school board, or proposal Mandate Relief Project among its partners any additions made to the local district to work with legislators in getting mandate continuous improvement plan; or For many weeks Governor Kitzhaber relief bills introduced. (b) Certify that self-evaluations were has alluded to breaking from the past and Two resulting, key bills need your support: conducted as required by this section dramatically changing the way Oregon • House Bill (number to be assigned), and that the local district continuous im- provides public services to its citizens. sponsored by Rep. Betty Komp (D-Wood- provement plan did not receive any sub- The release of his proposed budget for the burn), Ways and Means Education Sub- stantial changes or any additions. 2011-13 biennium offers a clearer picture committee co-chair, requires legislative Please contact your legislators and ask of how this would impact K-12 public fiscal impact statements to include the ef- for their support of these bills: education in Oregon. fect on school district expenditures if the Telephone: 503-986-1187 or 800-332- The budget proposes a State School measure imposes a new duty or increased 2313 (toll-free in Oregon outside the Salem Fund (SSF) amount of $5.56 billion. The level of service on school districts; and area). governor wants to front-load the budget • Senate Bill 560, sponsored by Sen. Betsy E-mail your legislator by using the and spend 52%, or about $2.9 billion, in Johnson (D-Scappoose), streamlines “Write Your Legislator” feature at www. the first year of the biennium (2011-12). school districts’ continuous improvement leg.state.or.us/writelegsltr. By entering In his budget document and press confer- plan process. SB 560 provides that, in- your mailing address, your message will be ence, the governor mentioned his desire stead of the lengthy, time-consuming bi- automatically forwarded to your represen- to find efficiencies by looking at changes ennial report the district is now required tative and/or senator. Link to contact infor- to the pupil transportation funding for- to file with the Department of Education, mation for all Senate or House members at mula, school district consolidation and, a district may only be required to: www.leg.state.or.us. possibly, collective bargaining practices at the school district level to help offset decreased funding in the 2012-13 school Meet your education committees year. The governor’s budget also recom- mends the current 4.75% of SSF funding The Oregon Legislature reconvened on Suzanne Bonamici (D-NW Portland and that goes to education service districts be February 1 and committee meetings have Beaverton), Sen. Chip Shields (D-Portland) sent directly to school districts to allow begun in earnest. About 2,000 bills have al- and Sen. Larry George (R-Sherwood). them to “shop for the regional services ready been introduced for the 2011 Session. Due to the unprecedented 30-30 split that best meet their needs.” OSBA Legislative and Public Affairs staff in the Oregon House, committees are co- The governor also proposed the creation are closely monitoring three key education chaired by a member of each political of an “Early Learning Council” to manage committees; we recommend school board party. The House Education Committee is many early childhood and school readi- members familiarize themselves with these co-chaired by Rep. Matt Wingard (R-Wil- ness programs that are currently housed committees. sonville) and Rep. Sara Gelser (D-Corval- across many state agencies. The governor Sen. Mark Hass (D-Beaverton) serves as lis); co-vice chairs are Rep. Jason Conger plans to establish an “Oregon Education the chair of the Senate Education and Work- (R-Bend) and Rep. Lew Frederick (D-Port- Investment Board” to help achieve his force Development Committee. Sen. Frank land). Other members of the committee are goal of “a single transparent 0-20 edu- Morse (R-Albany) serves as vice chair. Rep. Julie Parrish (R-Tualatin and West cation investment budget.” He will also Joining them on the committee are Sen. Continued propose a voter referral to change the way state police patrols are funded that would free up $93 million in the General Fund to OSBA/COSA enhance the SSF for the 2012-13 school year. Legislative Day Public schools in Oregon are receiving about $5.7 billion for the current bienni- Don=t forget to register for our OSBA/COSA Legislative Day um. The School Revenue Forecast Com- February 21. Dr. Nancy Golden, Governor Kitzhaber’s Educa- mittee has estimated that K-12 schools tion Advisor, will be one of the keynote speakers during the need about $6.7 billion in the 2011-13 bi- breakfast. At lunch, Senator Richard Devlin, Ways and Means ennium to maintain current staffing levels Committee co-chair, will address the group on the budget pic- and school programs. ture for Oregon. The governor’s proposed budget can be Get tips and tools for your advocacy on public education pri- accessed at: http://governor.oregon.gov/ orities that you can deliver in the Capitol during your visit in Gov/priorities/budget.shtml. Salem. Register at www.osba.org/legday. Legislative Highlights OREGON SCHOOL BOARDS ASSOCIATION 1201 Court St. NE, Ste. 400, Salem, OR 97301 PO Box 1068, Salem, OR 97308 503-588-2800 | 800-578-OSBA | www.osba.org [email protected] | facebook.com/osba.org Return service requested Continued Linn), Rep. Betty Komp (D-Woodburn), NSBA’s FRN Conference begins Sunday Rep. Michael Dembrow (D-Portland) and The National School Boards Associa- ing school boards, the state of K-12 fund- Rep. John Huffman (R-The Dalles). tion’s 38th Annual Federal Relations Net- ing in Oregon, and the importance of the The Ways and Means Subcommittee on work Conference convenes February 6-8 continuation of county timber payments for Education is co-chaired by Sen. Rod Monroe in our nation’s Capitol. In addition to an schools. On Tuesday, February 8, OSBA (D-Portland), Rep. Sherrie Sprenger (R-Scio) impressive list of education workshops and board members will host a breakfast with and Rep. Betty Komp (D-Woodburn). Rep. speakers, NSBA has identified four key Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley at Bill Garrard (R-Klamath Falls) and Rep. Mi- priority issues that will be addressed at the the Capitol Visitors Center. That afternoon, chael Dembrow (D-Portland) serve as co-vice FRN conference this year. These include: they will meet individually with Oregon’s chairs. Joining them on the committee are • Reauthorization of the Elementary and Congressional representatives and their Sen. Fred Girod (R-Stayton) and Sen. Chris Secondary Education Act; staffs. Edwards (D-Eugene and Junction City). • Adequate funding for education man- For additional information on the FRN The House Education Committee has be- dates, such as the Individuals with Dis- conference, go to http://www.nsba.org/ad- gun hearings on bills to make special edu- abilities Act and Title I programs; vocacy2/frn/. cation students who attend charter schools • Promotion of local control and gover- in neighboring districts residents of the nance to increase student achievement in sponsoring district and legislation to ensure the 21st century; and Public contracting students in residential treatment programs • Forward-looking initiatives in pre-K ed- This week the first public contracting get the education services they need. The ucation, teacher effectiveness and educa- bill, House Bill 2062, was heard in the Senate Education and Workforce Commit- tion innovation. House Education and General Government tee has begun reviewing legislation to ex- Six OSBA board members will be mak- Committee. This bill is a product of the De- pand college credit opportunities for high ing the journey to Washington, D.C., to ad- partment of Administrative Services imple- school students. The Ways and Means Sub- vocate on behalf of Oregon’s K-12 schools. mentation committee and clarifies proce- committee on Education convenes for the OSBA President David Beeson will lead dures to implement 2009 HB 2867, which first time on February 7 and will likely take the delegation, joined by OSBA President- changed some important provisions for up the budget for the Oregon Department elect Kris Howatt, OSBA Past President public contracts, including the requirement of Education as their first order of business. Beth Gerot, and OSBA board members that, prior to entering into a service con- Track committee agendas online: www. Laurie Adams, Dave Krumbein and tract in excess of $250,000, the contracting leg.state.or.us/11reg/agenda/webagendas.htm. Patti McLeod. agency must conduct a cost benefit analysis In addition to attending the FRN con- and a feasibility study which demonstrates ference, board members will be meeting © Oregon School Boards Association the service cannot be adequately provided with Oregon’s Congressional delegation with its own personnel and resources. Kevin McCann, executive director to share stories about the challenges fac- Tricia Yates, associate executive director of legislative The committee had several questions and public affairs, editor about the bill, including the need for ad- Morgan Allen and Lori Sattenspiel, legislative and OSBA’s weekly Legislative Highlights ditional background information, and re- public affairs specialists is now distributed via email. If you quested the Department of Administrative Jenny Fedler, legislative and public Services provide information pertaining to affairs assistant prefer to receive all your OSBA com- Judy Bennett & Diane Efseaff, munications by U.S. mail, call 503- the additional burden, including time re- design & production 588-2800 or 800-578-OSBA.