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- Subscribe - Contact Us - Rate Card - Place an Ad Archives Revels Classifieds Real Estate Guide Weather Subscribe Contact Us February 17, 2005 Revisiting the role of ESDs I am critical of the reporter and the Tidings front-page article (Feb. 14) on Education Service Districts. Southern Oregon ESD serves 13 school districts in Jackson, Josephine and Klamath counties with special education, technology and school improvement services. We are the largest ESD geographically in Oregon with about 10,600 square miles. Schools in our region enroll approximately 51,000 students, which represent about 10 percent of the students in Oregon. The 1999 Oregon Legislature created an ESD Task Force to explore the critical question "should ESDs exist?" The Task Force undertook a year-long review of Education Service Districts. Hundreds of hours of visitations, testimony and study went into this review. The task force found strong support for the ESD system, recommended the current funding formula, and defined the process used to determine ESD services to local districts. Less than four years ago, the 2001 Oregon Legislature enacted laws supporting these ESD Task Force recommendations. Oregon has a school funding crisis. Over the past 10 years Oregon schools have seen a 17 percent decrease in funding adjusted for inflation. ESDs are being unfairly criticized. Consolidating or eliminating ESDs will not solve Oregon's school-funding crisis, as the article would suggest. Education Service Districts receive school funds from a combination of local ESD property tax and state income tax revenues. School districts receive 95 percent of the state school funds with 5 percent being allocated to ESDs. By statute, 90 percent of the ESD budget must be spent on programs and services approved by our component school district boards. Southern Oregon ESD engages our component districts in vigorous debates as to how regional dollars will best serve their schools. These "resolution" discussions occur in the fall in anticipation of the upcoming school year. "Resolution" services are voted on by the ESD board in January and by our component district boards in February. We assemble a combination of our ESD board and component district board members in May for our budget vote. We are very proud of our personnel and the services we provide school districts in Southern Oregon. If you would like more information or would like to visit Southern Oregon ESD to see the services we provide, please call the Superintendent's office at 776-8590. Steve Boyarsky is superintendent of Southern Oregon ESD. He taught high school science in Medford schools, served as director of the SOU Academy program, worked as the SOU College-High coordinator and served Curriculum Coordinator at Southern Oregon ESD. DailyTidings.com Home Page Archives | Revels | Classifieds | Real Estate Guide | Weather | Subscribe | Contact Us Copyright 2005 Ashland Daily Tidings and Ottaway Newspapers All Rights Reserved Slippers Women's & Men's Slippers Ceramic Piggy Banks heloc libor rate Calenders 2005 Calender 2005 Accelerate Weightloss Products Memory Foam Mattress afsa studentloans home equity loans teleconferencing W2 Forms fasa student loans Matchmaking & Dating Scripts African Safari Conference Calls - $50/Month Security Systems student loan consolidation wholesale diamonds Currancy Exchange web conferencing Online Casinos Community Click Here Site Search: .:Advertisements:. RESOURCES - Mail Tribune News - ODOT Road Cams