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Phoenix-Talent board reviews consolidated SIA/ODE funding plan, priorities for attendance and literacy
Summary
School district staff presented a consolidated application for multiple Oregon Department of Education grants (SIA and related programs), outlining priorities on attendance, early literacy, CTE and equity; the board heard funding estimates and next steps for public comment and ODE review.
Brent Berry, superintendent of Phoenix-Talent School District 4, and district staff on Tuesday presented a consolidated Student Investment Account and related Oregon Department of Education grant application that the district plans to submit for approval.
The presentation outlined priorities including attendance recovery, early literacy, career- and technical-education (CTE) pathways, expanded counseling and nursing supports, and targeted interventions for English learners and other groups that the district identified as underperforming.
The plan’s nut graf: district staff said the consolidated application combines multiple grant streams into a single application to reduce administrative burden while directing funds to seven continuing outcomes (including equity and college- and career-readiness) and specific strategies such as summer school, nurse and counselor positions, transition activities between grade spans, and support for CTE pathways.
Aaron (presenter) described the required engagement process and the district’s findings from outreach to staff, families, tribal partners and students. “The concept was to reduce the burden in application by consolidating it to one application rather than one for each grant area,” the presenter said during the meeting. Staff reported tribal consultations with the Cow Creek Band of Umpqua Indians and the Confederated Tribes in the region and said those tribal partners “indicated really strong support for our plan.”
District staff summarized performance gaps that the grant aims to address: regular attendance declined (regular attendance rate down to about 65 percent last year, with special education attendance about 59–60 percent), low third-grade reading proficiency (about 30 percent versus a 40 percent state average), and low performance for Hispanic/ELL student subgroups. Staff said integrated math pass rates rose from 12 to 17 percent over two years but remain below state averages.
Yasmin (director of accounting) and the presentation team provided preliminary funding figures: the Student Investment Account (SIA) allocation was presented at about $2.3 million per year for the district; High School Success funding is roughly $630,000; early literacy funding in the current service level was described as about $170,000 with a governor’s proposal that could raise that to roughly $360,000. Staff said the combined set of grants the district is grouping into the consolidated application would total “between $5 million and $10 million” over the biennium, and that exact totals depend on final ODE allocations and the state budget process.
Staff described the next steps: the district will post the plan for public review and comment, return to the board for required public input and approval at an upcoming meeting, submit the plan to the Oregon Department of Education for review, and return with grant agreements for board approval if ODE accepts the submission.
Board members and staff emphasized monitoring and accountability measures. Staff said the Oregon Department of Education will continue to use longitudinal performance growth targets developed previously and that ODE informed the district it would not co-develop new LPGTs as had been expected. Board members asked whether supplementary local assessments (for example iReady or DIBELS) could be used to provide more frequent progress information in addition to state testing; staff and trustees said they are discussing those measurement issues with legislators and ODE but that state accountability currently centers on the statewide assessments.
No formal action on the consolidated application was taken at the meeting; staff said the board will receive the draft plan for public comment and will be asked to approve the plan and the related grant agreements after ODE review.
Ending: staff noted the plan’s investments would prioritize continuing supports that community members flagged as high-value (nursing, counseling, on-track graduation supports and CTE). The board did not approve grants at this meeting but scheduled the plan for public review and a future vote.
