Superintendent says district removed from federal improvement list; details Comprehensive Literacy grant funding

Superintendent Helena Chirinian told the Board that Brookings-Harbor School District was recently removed from Oregon’s federal improvement list, a status the district had held since approximately 2022. She said removal reflects improved outcomes and growth and noted that the prior designation had provided about $35,000 per building per year in additional professional-development funding.

Chirinian explained Oregon’s shift to a new accountability framework that will compare districts to cohorts of similar districts and emphasize growth rather than absolute statewide ranking. She said the new process may involve more intensive state oversight for districts that fail to demonstrate improvement, including oversight of expenditures and vendor selection.

On federal literacy funding, Chirinian described the Comprehensive Literacy grant as a multi-year award originally framed at roughly $750,000 over four years (example phasing: $300,000 first year, $150,000 subsequent years). She clarified that because of state-level delays, only the first $150,000 currently applies to the district and no additional federal appropriations have yet been released from the state. The superintendent warned that the grant is highly prescriptive — with specific dollar amounts earmarked for particular activities and oversight of preferred vendors — and said that level of micromanagement can complicate local tailoring of services.

Chirinian stressed the district will be "held harmless" for the current year and will still receive improvement funds already promised, but staff are proceeding cautiously until final funding levels and timelines are confirmed.