Inspiring Oregonians…
to do what it takes to make our
schools among the nation’s best.
CLASS Project Meeting • May 30, 2007

2007 Chalkboard legislative priorities
• Ensure educator excellence
• Create early learning success
• Increase efficiency, accountability and savings through
better financial practices
• Strengthen school funding
An Initiative of Foundations for a Better Oregon

THE ISSUE: Highly qualified teachers are
critical to raising student achievement
• Provide each new teacher and principal
with mentors
• Establish statewide public/private
partnership to strengthen ongoing
professional development for educators
House Bills 2574 (mentoring) and 2614 (prof. development)
Status: 2574 passed House Education Committee, budget passed
by Joint Ways & Means Committee; 2614 passed House
Education Committee, pending in Ways & Means
An Initiative of Foundations for a Better Oregon

Oregon Collaborative for
Educational Excellence
• Independent, public/private partnership
• $1.2 million committed by state; foundations will match
• Provide infrastructure for research- and standards-
based professional development for teachers and
administrators
• Will work in partnership with many stakeholders to
support high-quality teaching and school leadership
• Tangible results will include:
• 6 regional professional development centers, using existing
infrastructure
• Web-based virtual learning network
• Standards for high-quality, job-embedded professional
development
• Guidance and support for new mentoring program
An Initiative of Foundations for a Better Oregon

THE ISSUE: Students must be readers
by the end of third grade or face long
odds in school and life
• Reduce class size to 15 students in K-1
• Provide a reading tutor to every child
not reading at grade level in K-3
• Provide placeholder funding for full-day
kindergarten and future middle/high
school interventions
House Bill 2612, Senate Bill 318
Status: Joint Ways & Means Committee included performance
measures in school improvement fund budget; SB 318 includes
“soft targeting” of school improvement funds
An Initiative of Foundations for a Better Oregon

THE ISSUE: 40% of Oregonians believe
schools already have all the money they
need, and just need to be more efficient
• Identify and share best financial
practices with all districts, and
monitor all districts regularly
• Restructure transportation funding
formula to encourage more busing
cost efficiency
House Bill 2613, Senate Bill 47
Status: Joint Ways & Means Committee
added transportation study to ODE budget; amendments to
SB 47 still pending
An Initiative of Foundations for a Better Oregon

THE ISSUE: Oregon has one of the most
unstable school funding structures in the
country; 82% agree that instability is an obstacle
to school success
• Establish guaranteed level of per-student
spending that maintains current services
and invests in more research-proven
practices
• Double the size of the state’s school
stability fund, and use a combination of
sources, including the corporate kicker,
to fill it
House Bill 2615
Status: Rainy day fund passed and signed by governor, HB 3338 provides
legislative study on per-student funding
An Initiative of Foundations for a Better Oregon

Lessons learned
• Forces promoting status quo are formidable; more
research needs to drive process
• Progress made to support teachers, stabilize funding and
take modest steps toward more financial accountability
• Work is incomplete -- much more to accomplish in next
legislative session and beyond
Chalkboard will be back!
An Initiative of Foundations for a Better Oregon

Other updates
• CLASS Project moving forward
• Phase 2 of the Open Book$ Web site launching soon
(www.openbooksproject.org)
• New partnership with OASBO to develop and share best
financial practices for running school district business
operations
An Initiative of Foundations for a Better Oregon

An Initiative of Foundations for a Better Oregon