Education reform plan
gets criticism, praise
PORTLAND (AP) — Superinten
dent of Public Instruction Verne
Duncan is drawing a mixture of
praise and sharp criticism from
Oregon educators for his school
reform plan.
n
As the state Board of Education
moves toward public hearings
next month on two parts of the
eight-point plan, representatives
of the state school boards associa
tion and Oregon's largest teachers
union are lining up against it.
Even supporters express doubt
that the Legislature will provide
the $70 million-plus per year that
Duncan wants lawmakers to
authorize for some of the reforms.
Critics chastize Duncan for
vagueness and for making his pro
posals just to take advantage of
current nationwide concern over
the quality of schools.
Duncan, who outlined his pro
posals in a speech Sept. 15,
presented them to the state Board
of Education last Thursday.
Among other things, he proposed
a state-set curriculum, testing of
basic skills at three grade levels
and an increase in the length of
the school year from 175 to 190
days.
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in
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"I think Verne's stuff is full of
crap and nothing but his own opi
nion as to what might be done to
improve education," said Tom
Rigby, executive director of the
pregon School Boards Associa
ion. "We ought to look at
'research-based studies."
Sandy Ellis, president of the
Oregon Education Association,
said Duncan's proposals "are so
broad-based that it’s hard to give a
reaction."
But Don Peterson, superinten
dent of the Pendleton School
District, said he is "generally very
supportive" of the state
superintentdent's recommen
dations.
Adding 15 days to the school
year is expected to cost $70
million to $80 million a year, said
Al Davidson, Duncan's executive
assistant. He said the longer year
was proposed to enable "more
learning" to take place.
Of Duncan's eight proposals,
three — the longer school year,
iagnostic tests at three grade
vels, and mandatory state stan
dards for evaluating school per
sonnel — will require legislative
action, Davidson said.
The state Board of Education has
authority to extend the school
year, but Duncan has proposed
that the Legislature, not local
districts, put up money for
teachers' salaries during the ex
tended year.
Tests at the third, sixth and
tenth-grade levels are expected to
cost about $500,000 a year, David
son said. That money will be
sought either from the full
Legislature or the Emergency
Board, which approves appropria
tions between sessions.
An eighth-grade test aimed at
making sure students have a
thorough grounding in basic skills
might require money from the
Legislature, but officials are study
ing ways to finance the testing
even if lawmakers don't agree to
pay for it, he said.
The Education Department will
ask lawmakers to revise state law
to grant the department authority
to require that districts follow
state standards in evaluating
teachers and administrators, he
said.
Duncan also proposed a
uniform statewide curriculum for
kindergarten through 12th grade.
Such a curriculum, which requires
approval from the state Board of
Education, would probably be
phased in course by course over
several years, Davidson said.
The state board on Thursday en
dorsed Duncan's plan in principle
and gave tentative approval to the
proposals to award honors
diplomas to some students and to
stiffen high school graduation re
quirements by adding a second
year of math and science and a
fourth year of English.
Five meetings aimed at obtain
ing public comment on the
honors and graduation re
quirements proposals will be held
around the state next month. Ad
ditional instruction to satisfy the
tougher graduation requirements
would have to be financed by
local school districts, Davidson
said.
Rigby said school board
members around Oregon are like
ly to support stronger coordina
tion of school curriculums. But he
accused Duncan of long ignoring
authority he already has to
develop techniques for evaluating
teachers.
Fisheries face bad year
H
ANCHORAGE (AP) — Despite
the second-largest catch on
record, Alaska's salmon industry
faces a difficult marketing year,
state officials warned Monday.
"It's a dilemma," said Rodger
Painter of the Alaska Seafood
Marketing Institute. "A good
salmon season doesn't always
mean a good season for
marketing."
Besides the sheer volume of fish
— 123 million — marketing of
ficials must cope with a variety
factors beyond their control.
Among other things:
•The strength of the dollar in in
ternational money markets means
foreigners have less purchasing
power to buy Alaska salmon;
•There's still a significant
amount of salmon left on the
shelves from the 1982 season;
•Although the Japanese have
dropped their prices, demand by
Japanese consumers continues to
decline;
•Strong competition from Nor
way is hurting Alaska salmon in
the European market.
The problems are reflected in
the figures showing that although
fisherman caught 12 million more
salmon this year, they got only $4
million more for them.
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