School reform package, council to vote on interim manager
Good evening, Salem.
Governor Tina Kotek and legislative leaders today unveiled an education reform proposal that's intended to give the state more teeth to hold school districts accountable for educating students.
The bill would reshape how the Oregon Department of Education works with school districts, giving the agency the ability to require that districts which persistently fail to teach students to read accept state coaching - and eventually state control over some funding.
If the legislation passes, those more punitive measures wouldn't be available for several years. But Kotek said work reshaping the education department internally would begin immediately, cutting down the number of reports and grants districts must submit to the state to free up time to focus on teaching.
School districts would also immediately have to set goals for improving key measures of success, including the share of students who can read in third grade and do math proficiently by 8th grade.
“I don’t believe in writing a blank check and I don’t believe in accepting the status quo when it comes to delivering for our students," Kotek said at a news conference Monday.
We'll have more on what the proposal would mean for Salem schools later this week.
Here's some of today's news. Catch all of our reports anytime on our website.
Krishna Namburi has served as acting city manager since Feb. 10 after former Salem City Manager Keith Stahley abruptly resigned. Namburi, a long-time city employee, is expected to bring steady…
The Oregon Department of Transportation began installing a $75,000 fence last week to block people from camping underneath the Interstate 5 overpass at Northeast Market Street. The department said camping…
Salem police said they have made no arrests two days after finding three windows shattered at the conservative news talk radio station KSLM early Saturday morning.
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