To: The Oregon State House, The Oregon State Senate, and Governor Kate Brown
Take Back Our Classrooms
To: Governor John Kitzhaber and the OEIB
Subject: TAKE BACK OUR CLASSROOMS
We, the undersigned—all of whom are deeply invested in the future of our students and of education in this state—object to the manner in which the changes in Oregon’s education system are being instituted by the legislature and the newly created Oregon Education Investment Board (OEIB).
In particular:
• We object to the current make-up of the OEIB, on which faculty--everyday faculty, in contrast to people who occasionally teach a class or taught before becoming administrators)--are severely under-represented when compared with administrators and business interests.
• We object to the top-down approach with which these changes are being dictated.
• We object to the rapid pace with which the changes are being made—a pace that undermines the ability for faculty at all levels of the educational system to become genuinely involved in this process.
In light of these objections:
• We call upon the Governor to immediately reconfigure the membership of the OEIB so that no less than 75% of the members are full-time faculty members; that these faculty members represent K-12 and post-secondary institutions; and that these faculty members come from a broad range of academic disciplines.
• We also call upon the Governor to suspend all actions of the OEIB for six months in order to allow for more faculty input from across the state.
Subject: TAKE BACK OUR CLASSROOMS
We, the undersigned—all of whom are deeply invested in the future of our students and of education in this state—object to the manner in which the changes in Oregon’s education system are being instituted by the legislature and the newly created Oregon Education Investment Board (OEIB).
In particular:
• We object to the current make-up of the OEIB, on which faculty--everyday faculty, in contrast to people who occasionally teach a class or taught before becoming administrators)--are severely under-represented when compared with administrators and business interests.
• We object to the top-down approach with which these changes are being dictated.
• We object to the rapid pace with which the changes are being made—a pace that undermines the ability for faculty at all levels of the educational system to become genuinely involved in this process.
In light of these objections:
• We call upon the Governor to immediately reconfigure the membership of the OEIB so that no less than 75% of the members are full-time faculty members; that these faculty members represent K-12 and post-secondary institutions; and that these faculty members come from a broad range of academic disciplines.
• We also call upon the Governor to suspend all actions of the OEIB for six months in order to allow for more faculty input from across the state.
Why is this important?
Oregon will soon be making some enormous changes to our educational system. These changes are coming at us fast. But guess what? Most of the people responsible for these changes are not educators--they are politicians, CEOs, and administrators. We need professional educators at the helm of this ship, not people outside the profession. Please help us to make this happen.
Scott Dionne
Scott Dionne