by Craig Hawkins, Executive Director

The last few months have been incredibly busy – not to mention exciting and challenging – on the Oregon's education policy and advocacy fronts.  

We will have a number of opportunities to discuss the most pressing issues – including school funding and the upcoming legislative session, the Oregon Education Investment Board (OEIB) and achievement compacts, Oregon’s ESEA Flexibility Waiver application, and more – during our OASE/OACOA Winter Conference at Salishan this week.  

We will kick things off at 3:00 Thursday afternoon with an OASE Off-The-Record meeting featuring a legislative session preview from Sen. Ted Ferrioli and Rep. Peter Buckley.  At that meeting, we will also delve into OEIB and achievement compacts, as well as the NCLB waiver.  These topics will be discussed again on Friday at a handful of breakout sessions – including a 1:00 p.m. breakout about the February legislative session (presented by Chuck Bennett), and a 2:15 p.m. breakout about the OEIB and achievement compacts (presented by OEIB Board members Yvonne Curtis and Mark Mulvihill).

Whether you will be attending the Winter Conference or not, though, we thought you might appreciate a brief update about each of these issues.

School Funding and the Legislative Session

After talking with legislative leaders, the legislative revenue office and others, it seems fairly certain that what we are currently expecting ($5.725 billion for K-12 in 2012-13) is likely to be what we will get for the rest of the biennium.  The general consensus seems to be that the Feb. 8 state revenue forecast may be down slightly, but not enough to approach the state's remaining $169 million ending fund balance.  Coupled with what appears to be an overall legislative resolve to do no more harm to schools, this means that K-12 funding is likely to remain unchanged for the biennium.  In general, given the current consensus among economists that the U.S. will avoid another recession, and overall improvement in national employment numbers, Oregon’s outlook appears marginally better than it did a few months ago.  

That said, we are asking each district to provide us with a one-page narrative about your budget situation for next year.  We will use the narratives to help legislators maintain their resolve to protect schools from further cuts and, if the opportunity arises, to advocate for providing schools with some or all of the additional $56 million for 2012-13 legislators were hoping to allocate to K-12 if revenue forecasts allow.

In addition to the upcoming legislative session, we will be discussing the work of the OASE Funding Coalition at Salishan.  In the fall, the Funding Coalition adopted a number of advocacy positions to provide direction on funding matters for COSA staff.  Beginning at our Feb. 24 meeting, the Funding Coalition will undertake a process of developing recommendations for the OEIB about how to “define and achieve a stable and sustainable baseline of funding” for 2013-15 and thereafter.

OEIB and Achievement Compacts

OASE and COSA supported Senate Bill 909, which formed the OEIB, during the 2011 legislative session, and we have continued to be actively engaged with the OEIB and the governor’s staff.   As you know, three superintendents – Yvonne Curtis, Mark Mulvihill and Nancy Golden – are on the Oregon Education Investment Board.  The executive summary of the OEIB's report to the legislature gives some good background.

COSA and the OASE Vision & Policy Task Force weighed in with achievement compact recommendations in November; please note that these recommendations were intentionally submitted as a “draft” document because we believe the achievement compacts are, and should continue to be, a work in progress.  Please also note that the latest draft achievement compact from the OEIB borrows from the recommendations we submitted.  

Last week, the COSA Board voted to support draft legislation that moves OEIB forward.  This legislation does two main things.  First, it gives the yet-to-be-hired Chief Education Officer authority, “for matters related to the design and organization of the state’s education system,” over the leaders of the Oregon Department of Education, the community college commissioner, the chancellor of the Oregon University System, the early childhood system director, and a few others.  Second, it defines achievement compacts, including the contents, process, timeline and reporting.  There appears to be quite a bit of flexibility in the proposed legislative language, which reflects the thinking that the compacts should continue to evolve over time.

We will be discussing the achievement compacts and OEIB at Salishan, including sharing some example documents developed by Springfield and Beaverton schools.  We look forward to your thoughts about additional support or resources that would be helpful to you.

ESEA Flexibility Waiver

As you undoubtedly know, the process for developing Oregon's ESEA Flexibility Waiver application ran throughout the fall and early winter.  A number of administrators were involved in the work groups that created the initial draft.  COSA provided written comments about the initial draft in December.  Last week, the COSA Board voted to support Oregon’s waiver request.  Oregon’s waiver request was submitted yesterday.

The system described in the waiver request is not one any of us would have designed if we had the opportunity to start with a blank slate, but given the federal requirements, there appears to be near unanimity that the waiver, if granted, will provide an improvement over the current NCLB system.  

There are breakout sessions about the Oregon’s NCLB waiver at the Winter Conference.

We hope to see you there.

by Chuck Bennett, Director of Governmental Relations

An email the other day from Southern Oregon ESD superintendent Scott Perry got me thinking. How can I explain the first annual Session of the Oregon Legislature set to begin on February 1? The next email I opened gave me the answer – Senate President Peter Courtney was speaking to Marion County Democrats at Kwan’s Kitchen and his topic was to be his take on how the Session would work.

So, yesterday I tucked into a plate full of Singapore Noodles, sweet and sour chicken and a beef broccoli stir fry to hear the author of the annual session ballot measure take a stab at explaining how this new experiment in Oregon lawmaking will work. For those of you who have heard Courtney speak, do know I’m leaving out the fun stuff – like listening to Peter banter with supporters and refer to his often melancholic disposition as the audience tries not to swallow their chopsticks laughing at his facially expressed confusion over the humor they find in his solonic gloom.

Here’s an example. All bills must have been requested by December 5. Courtney looked pleased as he outlined how strict he was enforcing the rules of the game – members get two bills, interim committees five, the Governor five and to his amusement the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court gets five. Courtney explained that he and the co-speakers of the Oregon House of Representatives can introduce as many as they want but he is imposing a politically correct two on himself. Then he does the math – a total of 259 bills can be introduced into the Session if everyone plays by the rules. Here comes to gloom – there are nearly 300 of them floating around. How can this be, he asks his partisan audience with a note of perplexity in his voice.

Courtney has been in the Legislature for 27 years and explains he knows how this can happen.  He’s expected to kill about 50 of his colleagues great ideas right out of the shoot, which will be no later than January 27 when he issues his list of likely committee assignments where the bills will be referred. If that happens and it sounds like it is, there will be 259 bills at play on February 1 when he opens the Senate and his counterpart co-chairs double tap in the House

Under the Constitutional amendment passed overwhelmingly by the voters last year, the Legislature will have 35 days to do its job. Courtney, after citing substantial history of the past two special Sessions that led up to the vote, predicts it will go faster and is shooting for closure (called “sine die”) on February 29. Worse comes to worse, and Courtney sees things like this through a glass darkly, it goes to March 6.

Senate bills will have to be posted for hearing by Feb. 6 and completed by Feb. 14 to be sent to the House. The House bills will have to be considered for votes in committee by Feb. 21 and out of committee on Feb. 23

If you do a quick math on all this, its 10 working days for consideration of Senate Bills, 15 for House bills and if a bill passes one chamber it will have about 7 days of life left in the other chamber. The prediction from timelines like this is that bills with problems like opposition will have a hard time making it all the way through the system. There just won’t be time to work out kinks let alone add up the 31 votes in the House and 16 votes in the Senate needed to make ideas into laws.

So, if you follow this stuff, buckle your seat belt and get ready for substantial turbulence. It’s going to be a heck of a ride.

by  Chuck Bennett, Director of Governmental Relations

Yesterday, ODE released a series of rule drafts aimed at hearings and adoption by the State Board of Education over the next eight months. We’ve had several questions from superintendents about the list and the context of them. Bottom line is that there are no major changes in rules not expected from legislation passed in the last Session. Below is a summary and timeline.

You will notice that there are no plans to do rulemaking on the Inter-District Transfer Law (HB 3681) that passed last Session. Cindy Hunt at ODE, the author of the rules listed blow, has determined that the best way to handle issues around the new law is through an FAQ (frequently asked questions). Several districts or groups of districts have sent Cindy their questions and COSA has been compiling others that come our way. If you have questions please send them to Cindy Hunt or me and we’ll get them into the mix.

Topping the list coming out of ODE yesterday was a set of rule changes seeking comment by November 1. Here’s a synopsis of the rules under review:

Set for hearing on October 26 at ODE with public comment open until November 1:

• OAR 581-033-1133 – Extended Diploma – allows a student to either receive their diploma by four years (or sooner) after entering grade 9 or by the time they reach 21 years of age. It sets out consent requirements and reporting requirements on the number of students seeking the diplomas under the rule.
• OAR 581-022-1134 – Modified Diploma – sets out consent requirements similar to the previous rule and then adds a substantial new section on district obligations to students seeking modified diplomas including: comparable instruction hours and services to those students attending the public high school; IEP team responsibilities; notice requirements to parents; and a requirement that districts have on-site access to resources for students seeking modified diplomas.
• OAR 581-022-1135 – Alternative Certificate – again set out consent requirements similar to the other two rules being heard, sets out requirements for comparable instructional  hours, IEP team involvement, notice to parents and on-site resources as the above modified diploma rule.

Public comments are due to ODE on the following rules by November 1 (note that no public hearing has been set on these and there won’t be one unless there is a need reflected in public comments):

• There are a series of rules covering requirements under SB 800, the Mandate Relief Bill passed in the last Session of the Legislature. Here are the highlights of the rules: requirements for annual financial reporting by charter schools to ODE and sponsors; repeal of interscholastic activity districts and rules around their activities, and appeals process; new requirements on the transfer of student education records including notice requirements between the students former school and their new school;  allowing districts to provide written, emailed or web based copies of state required performance reports; a rule adding school library programs to the programs eligible for School Improvement Funds;  and repealing the reporting requirements under the SIF.
• OAR 581-015-2570, 2571, 2572, 2573 and 2574 – Long-Term Care and Treatment – does some work on definitions, primarily substituting current definitions of “state agency” with references to public and private entities and a child’s parent as well as specifically referencing the Oregon Department of Human Services. The rules also deal with program eligibility and approval requirements, and the funding formula.
• 581-020-0342, 0343, 0339 – On-line Charter Schools -- follows legislation in HB 2301 and repeals 0339 on attendance rules and then outlines the new rules for on-line schools in the other two rules.  0342 outlines the enrollment rules around on-line charter schools including parental notice, possible school district responses and timelines. New to the rule is the ability of a district to deny on-line education to student because the district has reached a point where three percent of its students have already enrolled in an on-line school. It gives some guidance on how to calculate the 3% by saying the district is only required to use data that is reasonably available to the district and then gives examples of sources for information that can be used to calculate total student population in a district.  0343 outlines a student’s appeal process if they are denied enrollment at an on-line charter school.
• OAR 581-023-0015 – Remote Small Elementary Schools and Small High School Weightings -- allows a small elementary school to qualify as remote and therefore receive more funds if it is not within 8 miles of another elementary school in the same school district.  This change in state law and reflected in this rule allows 22 more elementary schools in the state to qualify for remote funding.
• OAR 581-022-1720, 1723, 1724 and 1725 – Personnel Policies, Evaluation, Teaching and Administrative Standards – This set of OARs cover the changes made in SB 290. Basically the new rules set up standards for evaluation of teachers and administrators statewide. The basic standards for both teachers and administrators are based on national models --- for administrators the standards are found in the Educational Leadership Constituents Council Administrator Standards and the Interstate School Leaders Licensure Consortium Standards. For teachers similar national standards are published by the Interstate Teacher Assessment and Support Consortium in its core teaching standards. The same standards are used by TSPC. Evaluations are to begin statewide in July 2013.  The new law also requires that the standards be customized by each district based on collaborative efforts of teachers and administrators and the bargaining agent for teachers. The rules also follow the statute in outlining the basic components of the process.
• OAR 581-023-0040 – School Transportation – updates school bus regulations and funding formula.

The rulemaking announcement also set a series of public hearings next year on a series of rules:

• Jan. 6 – OAR 581-020-0345 – Timeline Extensions for Charter Approvals and Renewals – allows the superintendent of public instruction to grant extensions requested by a school district for charter approval or renewal process.  OAR 581-020-0421 – Safety of School Sports, Concussions – adds psychologists license by the Board of Psychologist Examiners to the list of health care professionals who can grant releases in cases of concussion allowing the student to again participate in sports.
• Jan 26 – OAR 581-053-0002, 0006 – Pupil Transportation and Bus Driver Training and Certification.
• Feb. 23 – OAR 581-015-0610 – State Assessment – outlines changes in administration of the OAKS and ELPA tests.
• March 23 – OAR 581-015-2950 – Sets 176 minimum days for students under the Youth Corrections Education Program and Juvenile Corrections Education Program.  OAR 581-001-0005 – Adopts the AG’s model rules of procedure for special education complaint evaluations.
• May 25 – OAR-022-0615 – Assessment of Essential Skills –sets up rules for meeting proficiency requirements in essential skills. It outlines district responsibilities in setting up these evaluation plans.

by Craig Hawkins

My friend Kent Hunsaker is retiring this week.  

After more than four decades of service to Oregon schools and students, he says he’s ready.  He says it’s time.  But, after 28 years of working with Kent, I confess that I am having a little trouble seeing it.

It’s not hard to picture Kent relishing the extra time he gets to spend with his wife, Jody; their three children (Rex, Allison and Angela) and their spouses; and their grandchildren.  It’s not hard to picture Kent enjoying additional opportunities to travel and visit with friends.  And, of course, it’s not hard to picture Kent taking pleasure in having plenty of time to work on his golf game.

But, as I mentioned, having worked with Kent since 1983, it is kind of hard for me to picture him in retirement.  Kent began his career as a math teacher in Oakridge in 1967.  He was later promoted to assistant principal at Oakridge High School, and then became principal at Pleasant Hill Junior High School in 1977.  Kent got his first superintendent’s job at Yamhill-Carlton in 1979, at the age of 34.  In 1982, he moved to Creswell, and then in 1987, he became only the third superintendent in the history of Bethel School District.  Kent stayed in Bethel for 17 years, where his leadership helped to transform the district, both educationally and perceptually.  Bethel generated tremendous gains in community support during Kent’s tenure, leading to the construction of three new schools.

In 2004, Kent succeeded Ozzie Rose, becoming just the second executive director of COSA.  Under his stewardship, COSA has expanded and enhanced its professional development program, and reinforced its standing as a respected and effective statewide advocate for schools.  Among his many accomplishments, Kent has trained a generation of administrators in school finance.

Everywhere Kent has been – every school, every district, every community, every organization – is better off because of his leadership.  At every stop in his career, Kent created a glass-is-at-least-half-full environment, where all people were good, and by working together they could accomplish great things.  Over the years, my colleagues and I have often referred to that environment as “Kent’s World."

Kent’s World is a magical place, where Kent’s outlook on life casts a spell over all of those fortunate enough to live there.  In Kent’s World, all students are gifted, all employees are talented, all spouses are beautiful (or handsome), all families are wonderful, and everyone is a scratch golfer.

In Kent’s World, we always see the best in everyone – and we never, ever, utter a bad word about anyone.  True story: I worked with Kent for more than 15 years before I heard him say something negative about someone.  And that person really deserved it.  And what he said wasn’t all that negative.  And it hasn’t happened again.

In Kent’s World, schools improve.  Student performance increases.  Teachers and classified employees trust administrators and school boards.  And parents and communities support their schools.

Early on, I thought Kent was just a really, really blessed guy.  I mean, look at the life he’s led.  Look at his family.  Look at his career.  Look at his golf game, and his history as an athlete (he was a quarterback and shooting guard at Utah State, where he played in two NCAA tournaments).  But after a few years, I came to understand that Kent’s World didn’t just occur by happy accident.  It was a place, an attitude and an atmosphere created, intentionally, by Kent.  Sure, it was magic.  But the magic required a potion, and that potion required certain ingredients – and Kent has been a master mixologist.

I have been witness to that magical potion for 28 years now.  Marveling at it, and studying it.  Breaking it down.  Measuring it.  Calculating the balance and blend of ingredients.  I don’t pretend to have it entirely figured out, but I think I can describe some of the essential ingredients in Kent’s potion.  Among them (in no particular order) are:

• Be open and honest with your staff – all of them, including teachers and classified employees – and your community, especially about money.  Give them a voice, and listen to what they have to say.  Process important decisions with them.  In return, they will feel they have a stake in decisions and outcomes.
• Surround yourself with talented, dedicated people.  Offer guidance as necessary, but trust them to do their jobs.
• Always be forthright with your Board, especially about money, even when they may not like the answer.  Provide information, without “spin.”
• Invest confidence in those around you.  Most will thrive on it, and strive to justify your confidence.
• Make your organization as “flat” as possible.  Include everyone.  Value all people.  Strive for equity.  Promote diversity.
• If you make a mistake, take responsibility for it.  Then develop a plan to fix it.  And never make that mistake again.
• Treat your leadership team – your administrative team – like they are your most important asset and audience.  Because they are.
• Never, ever say a bad word about anyone.  And always believe the best in people.  

Positivity.  Trust.  Confidence.  Honesty.  Inclusivity.  Openness.  Accountability.  The key values in Kent’s World speak volumes about him and his legacy, and they provide us with the essential ingredients for our “potion” as we go forward.

It has been a privilege to work and live in Kent’s World for the past 28 years. And, even though we will find ways to keep him connected to COSA and COSA members, we will miss him.

Please join me in wishing Kent and Jody a long and healthy and happy retirement.