Senate committee hears bill to require plaques recognizing Peter Courtney, seismic school upgrades

Senate Bill 223 would require the Oregon Department of Education to design a memorial plaque recognizing and honoring former Senate President Peter Courtney’s contributions to school seismic rehabilitation and would require qualifying schools that received Education Seismic Fund distributions to display the plaque.

Supporters told the Senate Committee on Education that the plaques would preserve public memory of statewide investments made after voters approved bond measures and that the program has materially reduced risk to students. “This measure is a memorial both to Peter Courtney and to the state's efforts in making our schools and public spaces safer,” said Senator Michael Dembrow during the public hearing. Dembrow described Courtney’s sustained advocacy for bonding authority that allowed state investment in school seismic upgrades.

State officials outlined the scope and history of the Seismic Rehabilitation Grant Program. Michael Elliott of the Oregon Department of Education said the program began after passage of ballot measures and subsequent legislative action: the initial seismic-rehabilitation program launched in 2009 with $30 million for schools and emergency services, and later moved to Business Oregon in 2014. Business Oregon’s Seismic Rehabilitation Grant Program has funded 346 school projects and roughly $596,000,000 in school seismic work, Elliott said; 157 emergency-services projects have received about $173,000,000. Grant maximums were raised over time — the program now commonly awards grants up to $2,500,000; projects exceeding that amount require a local match.

Gloria Zacharias, Seismic Program Manager at Business Oregon, said the program remains oversubscribed: a recently closed application round produced 98 applications, and funded projects now cover school districts in all but four Oregon counties (one of which had just applied). Jay Wilson, past chair of the Oregon Seismic Safety Policy Advisory Commission, described why recognition matters: mitigation that succeeds is often invisible, and placards would help explain to future generations that leaders and state investment made buildings safer. Morgan Allen, who serves on the program’s advisory committee, read a list of school districts awarded grants in May 2024 — totaling about $55 million — to show geographic spread, including Ashland, Medford, Portland Public Schools and Tillamook.

Proponents urged the committee to move SB 223 to a work session. No formal committee action was taken during the public hearing; supporters said they want to avoid fiscal changes that could interfere with the bill’s passage.

The committee closed the public hearing on SB 223 and proceeded to other agenda items.