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Medford won't pull out of SOESD Wednesday Mar 1, 2017 at 5:43 PM Mar 1, 2017 at 5:43 PM Teresa Thomas Mail Tribune @teresathomas_MT The Medford School District will remain a member of the Southern Oregon Education Service District after learning it could not replicate services in time for the 2017-18 school year and would not have the option of buying back services from the SOESD. District officials gave the SOESD notice of its intent to withdraw last October after an analysis showed that it would save up to $500,000 a year bringing services in-house, said the Chief Financial Officer Brad Earl. The SOESD currently provides special education, school improvement and technology and media services to 13 districts in Jackson, Josephine and Klamath counties. Under the current service plan, districts may choose from a menu of special education services or receive cash in lieu of services. However, school improvement, technology and media services are not optional, whether the district utilizes them or not. According to a recent survey conducted by the SOESD, the Medford district used and was satisfied with only 26 of 72 services available through the SOESD. Valued services included Career and Technical Education grant management, mentoring for new teachers and administrators, braillists, sign language interpreters and autism and deaf-blind services. District officials also marked 33 services as “not needed.” Of those, several are part of the SOESD’s administrative and business offerings which are outside its core services package and available on a menu basis. “We originally went into this thinking we could pull out of the ESD and purchase back services,” said Medford Superintendent Brian Shumate. But since the district issued its letter of intent to withdraw, the SOESD has decided not to allow districts — with the exception of the Grants Pass School District, which withdrew from the SOESD in 2014 — to buy back services if they withdraw, Shumate said. “It was an all-or-none proposition,” he said. “Once we heard that information, it forced our decision to stay in at this time, but we are going to continue to look at our relationship (with the SOESD) critically and responsibly.” At Monday’s School Board meeting, the board voted 5 to 1 in favor of staying with the SOESD but voted against the technology, media services and school improvement components of the proposed local service plan. However, all other member districts have voted in favor of all three areas of the local service plan, which will go into effect July 1, said SOESD Superintendent Scott Beveridge. “We just felt it was important to send a message (to the SOESD) that we aren’t 100 percent satisfied with the local service plan in those two areas (technology and media services and school improvement),” said Board Chairwoman Karen Starchvick. “Ultimately, we would like it to look more like a menu.” Beveridge said a full menu would not benefit Medford in all areas, such as teacher mentoring and courier and technology services, in which they access more than their share. “The same is true for other districts’ participation in other services,” Beveridge said. The SOESD, he said, was able to use the data collected from the survey and its own internal assessment to create more than $300,000 of cost savings for districts. “I’m looking forward to a continued evaluation of our services and how they are offered so that all districts continue to receive a greater benefit from participating in SOESD while receiving equity in the sharing of resources,” Beveridge said. Like Medford, the Central Point School District issued a letter of intent to withdraw last fall but has since decided to stay with the SOESD. Reach education reporter Teresa Thomas at 541-776-4497 or [email protected]. Follow her at www.twitter.com/teresathomas_mt.