by Oregon Save Our Schools
Please contact members of the Joint Ways & Means
Committee and urge them to say NO to the proposed strategic investments in
education of the OEIB and redirect those funds into classrooms!
See sample letter and background information below.
Contact:
Senator Richard Devlin
503-986-1719
Representative Peter Buckley
503-986-1405
Senator Betsy Johnson
503-986-1716
Representative Dennis Richardson
503-986-1404
Representative Nancy Nathanson
503-986-1413
Senator Alan Bates
503-986-1703
Senator Rod Monroe
503-986-1724
Senator Elizabeth Steiner Hayward
503-986-1717
Senator Chuck Thomsen
503-986-1726
Senator Doug Whitsett
503-986-1728
Senator Jackie Winters
503-986-1710
Representative Jeff Barker
503-986-1428
Senator Chris Edwards
503-986-1707
Senator Fred Girod
503-986-1709
Senator Bill Hansell
503-986-1729
Representative Lew Frederick
503-986-1443
Representative Tim Freeman
503-986-1402
Representative Bruce Hanna
503-986-1407
Representative John Huffman
503-986-1459
Representative Bob Jenson
503-986-1458
Representative Betty Komp
503-986-1422
Representative Mike McLane
503-986-1400
Representative Tobias Read
503-986-1427
Representative Greg Smith
503-986-1457
Representative Carolyn Tomei
503-986-1441
Representative Jennifer Williamson
503-986-1436
For easy, you can cut and paste these addresses into your
email:
Sample message (please personalize):
Subject Line: NO on OEIB bills! INVEST IN STUDENTS, NOT
BUREAUCRATS!
Dear Members of the Joint Ways & Means Committee:
With our kids sitting in ever more crowded classrooms, our
Governor chooses to make a series of poorly thought out and disconnected
“strategic investments” which have not be properly vetted by the public. Many
of the dollars proposed in these bills are for “competitive grants” that will
reward only a few districts, while the rest of our districts struggle.
Additionally, most of these so called “investments” were developed by a private
team cherry picked by the Governor. When these ideas were presented to the
public in a series of forums, the public was outraged and noted how out of
touch they were with reality and what we as parents, teachers, students and
other community members know is needed to close the achievement and opportunity
gaps. Restore common sense and democracy by voting NO on these bills, and
redirect these funds into our classrooms!
While there are a variety of OEIB related bills that should
be thoroughly scrutinized and called into question, we call upon you to
redirect the funds of SB 5548, HB 3232, HB 3233, and HB 2636 into classrooms
immediately!
Sincerely,
Name
Address
Phone #
Further background information (you can add as you see fit):
This is the OEIB budget bill currently at $7.2 million. Does the OEIB really
need its own budget? Does it really need to hire a team of researchers? A discretionary fund for
the CedO? Money for a marketing campaign?? We think not.
Directs the OEIB to design and implement programs that make strategic
investments related to education. This includes programs such as Oregon Reads,
which public librarians, the Oregon School Librarian of the Year, and even
members of the National Council of Teachers of English say is not the best use
of funds to increase reading achievement at this time. Total right now is $39
million. Why is this money not being used to invest in our school libraries and library teachers instead? Research shows that students, especially students of poverty, use their school library much more than the public library due to immediate access and instructional opportunities in information and literacy skills.
Directs OEIB/State Board of Ed to direct funds to public and private entities
for a “Network of Quality Teaching and Learning.” This is the scaled down
version of the “Regional Achievement Centers.” How effective can it really be
if educators don't buy in? Stakeholders need to be a part of the decision
making process in order for change to be effective. Even a good idea is doomed
to fail if the stakeholders feel it is imposed on them without their input.
Educators have ideas on how to improve achievement. Many are even more cost
effective than what we put in place, yet these voices are ignored. Morale of teachers is at an all time
low. Is it any wonder why when we ignore them as professionals? Total right now
is $30 million.
This directs $50 million of the General Fund to the STEM Investment Council for
grants and articulates goals for K-12 and post-secondary STEM education.
Rather than a grants based program, how about directing this money into actual
career and tech training?
These four bills alone represent a total of $126.2
million. This is equivalent to 1400FTE or 700 teachers each year for the next
two years. (That is more jobs than Nike promised with their tax deal!)