By JOSHUA BURK/for The Herald — The Feb. 10 school board meeting opened with a discussion on federal and state funding. State funding for the districts in coming years is expected to either remain the same or see an increase. Gov. Tina Kotek’s proposed budget of $11.36 billion for the 2025 to 2027 school years will see over $400 million in additional funding compared to previous years.
The Oregon Department of Education has advised the school district to conduct business as usual in regard to concerns over federal funding. If federal funding is cut, the school board will potentially have to lay off staff members in the 2026 to 2027 school year.
“We’re just going to wait and see,” Superintendent Dave McGrath said. No word has been made on this at the time of the meeting.
The school board voted on two action items both approving a grant and deciding to dispose of the old softball scoreboard. The money in the grant comes from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Education and the program’s money has been used for two stationary bikes, a slushie machine and various gym equipment at Oakridge Elementary School. The old scoreboard used on the softball field has been declared obsolete meaning the school district will either sell the scoreboard or throw it away if there is no interest.
The superintendent gave an update on the seismic retrofitting project at OES. Currently the school’s gymnasium is made of brick, which will need to come down for the project. The school plans on selling the bricks at a low price to any potential buyers.
Also in the superintendent’s report was discussion of the Renew America’s Schools grant. Oakridge has created a consortium with neighboring districts to apply for this grant. The district plans on using this grant money to replace the windows at Oakridge Junior Senior High School and OES as well as updating the HVAC system in OJSHS. The school is currently in the application process and if approved will be given a $300,000 planning grant to do an energy audit. The grant could be eligible for up to $14 million between the districts in the consortium.
The OES report touched on how OES is looking at separating Pre-K into two shorter sessions with an early and late time slot. If this change goes forward transportation will still be accessible for both sessions. The proposal could happen as soon as next school year.
In the OJSHS report, the future health curriculum for middle and high school were discussed. The choice in curriculum has been narrowed down to two that satisfy the district’s requirements and standards. There will be a meeting in the coming months so that the decided curriculum can be brought to the school board.
A new policy, Standards for Competent and Ethical Performance of Oregon Educators had its first reading at this session while the immunization and school sports participation policy got its second reading. The immunization policy was voted on and accepted with a slight modification making its wording more clearly applicable to all ages.
Joshua Berk
"Josh Berk is a student journalist with the Catalyst Journalism Project at the University of Oregon. He is a writer and reporter with a passion for storytelling and bylines as an arts reporter at the Daily Emerald."
