Oregonians' Achievement Compact: Citizens Holding the Governor and Legislators Accountable

by Tom Olson

The Oregon Legislature has passed a bill which creates a compact between the state and school districts holding districts accountable for certain measurements originated by the new OEIB super board.

“Oregon Save Our Schools” has developed a similar metric for me to hold the Governor and my Oregon Legislators accountable for actions concerning fully funding schools. The Governor/Legislator Achievement Compact does the following:

· Defines key measurements and sets goals for the Governor and legislators’ progress.

· Achieves fully-funded educational goals by measuring legislative progress and uniting the legislature around these goals.

· Allows comparisons of outcomes among legislators – spotlighting best practices to share and expand, and allowing diagnosis to overcome obstacles.

· Encourages the Governor and legislators to connect budgets and improvement plans to shared goals of fully-funded, state-wide education.

· Helps the Governor and legislators to determine how much progress they can make with the best use of state and local funds – and how they might invest dollars in ways that deliver fully-funded traditional programs at the school level.

· Provide parents and students with clear information about how their Governor and legislators are performing, allowing comparisons based on the most significant outcomes.

· Allows Oregon to replace provisions of No Child Left Behind, the federal waiver, and the overemphasis on testing and teacher accountability with funding allowing for school program additions instead of program cuts.

Governor/Legislator Achievement Compact for the 2013 session

You will be evaluated on meeting your benchmark of fully funding a traditional public education in the state of Oregon.

Legislative Session Ready: Is the Governor/Legislator ready with plans for the legislative session to fully fund education?

Ave. % Day Spent	Legislative Discussion	Public Discussion	Preliminary Plan	Final Plan
4 Month Evaluation
8 Month Evaluation

Progression: Is the Governor/Legislator making sufficient progress on a fully-funded QEM?

Ave. % Day Spent	Legislative Discussion	Public Discussion	Preliminary Plan	Final Plan
4 Month Evaluation
8 Month Evaluation

Equity: Do the Governor’s/Legislator’s plans call for full funding for all buildings and populations of students?

Pass / Fail	Early Childhood	K - 12	Community Colleges	Universities
4 Month Evaluation
8 Month Evaluation

Progression: Do the Governor’s/Legislators plans free up instructional time by reducing the over-emphasis on state testing?

Ave. % Day Spent	Legislative Discussion	Public Discussion	Preliminary Plan	Final Plan
4 Month Evaluation
8 Month Evaluation

Legislative Priorities: What other measures reflect key legislative priorities to support public education? (Governor/legislator’s opportunity to add progress benchmarks

Budget reflecting the above benchmarks

Legislative Budget	Federal Funds	Total Budget
Coming July 1st		.

I hereby enter into this compact with my constituents, the undersigned.

Signature of Governor/Legislator:

____________________________________________________

Date ________________

PLEASE RETURN SIGNED COPY TO ADDRESS OF CONSTITUENT SIGNATORIES