My last editorial struck a nerve. It reached nearly 20,000 views and was shared across Facebook, Reddit, Nextdoor, Corvallis radio and beyond. While some have said, “That’s a really well written and thoroughly researched article.” and “Seriously. This kid will be a fantastic data journalist if he chooses to be. Amazing work” others have commented I am peddling a conspiracy theory. Some say not to write while angry—but when I see opportunities vanish and beloved educators cut while Ryan Noss receives an $80,000 raise, anger feels justified. So today, I want to follow up on these comments and introduce data to show the situation the district faces as a whole, not just Crescent Valley.
At the April 10th School Board meeting, a concerned elementary parent asked two hard hitting questions to Ryan Noss and the board. The first was why are executive administrators receiving their 5% raise? She brought up that Samaritan, who is also in a budget deficit, temporarily lowered executive salaries until their deficit was over. The second question challenged the District Budget FAQ which states, “HOW DOES OUR LEVEL OF STAFFING IN THE DISTRICT OFFICE COMPARE TO OTHER LIKE-SIZED DISTRICTS? The District is currently in the process of gathering this data and will have information to share during the budget process.” the speaker was surprised that they had no information on this. I did research these numbers in a previous editorial and found that Corvallis has an insanely high district office admin to student ratio (higher than any other major school district in the state). This means we have many more admin compared to our student population.
Corvallis Schools are facing a massive crisis of enrollment and the money that follows. We have been told we are just ahead of the curve that the state and nation is experiencing. Some have punted the responsibility to the city, county, or state. We often hear the words housing and birth rates as reasoning for the millions of dollars our School Board will have to cut. Not many have challenged this narrative. A narrative that has left out large and crucial elements of declining enrollment in our district…