Bill Briefs
Urban renewal
What it does: The bill would require approval of an urban renewal plan by all overlapping taxing districts. It would add a representative from each taxing district, which includes school district representation. Currently, urban renewal districts are designed to get rid of blight and use tax dollars to work on economic development projects, including infrastructure. These investments return additional tax dollars to the jurisdictions that provide services. School districts compete with urban renewal for those tax dollars and should be included in the visioning and planning as a partner.
What’s new: The Senate Economic Development and Trade Committee heard the bill March 15.
What’s next: OSBA supports the bill and will monitor its progress.
Superintendent of public instruction as statewide elected office
What it does: The bill would make the office of superintendent of public instruction an elected statewide office. SB 746, along with related measures SB 649 and SJR 37, envision substantially different oversight systems for education in Oregon. Prior to 2012, the superintendent of public instruction was elected by the people of Oregon for a four-year term. As part of an education overhaul, SB 552 in 2011 eliminated the elected office of superintendent. That bill made the governor the superintendent and tasked the governor with appointing a deputy superintendent of public instruction. The appointee must have at least five years of experience as a school administrator and is subject to approval by the Oregon Senate. The current deputy superintendent of public instruction is Salam Noor.
What’s new: The Senate Education Committee heard the bill March 16.
What’s next: OSBA will monitor the bill’s progress.