A message from our Executive Director and Board Chair

To our community of supporters,

As you have likely heard and read, Corvallis public schools are facing dramatic fiscal pressure due to a confluence of factors including a broken state funding model, and declining student enrollment due to a lack of available housing. The result is a significant budget shortfall for the next school year (2024-2025) and anticipated reductions in the years ahead.

The Corvallis Public Schools Foundation was founded in 1996 following a similar time of drastic changes to funding for public schools—primarily the passage of Measures 5 and 50—that put a cap on the level of school funding that could be raised locally. Community leaders established the Foundation to invest in our schools and provide an avenue for the community’s support. Since then, more than $13M have been invested in our schools through the Foundation.

Today, our schools are being asked to do even more with less at a time when students’ needs continue to rise after the stress of the pandemic, and the cost of delivering education escalates.

After demonstrating that the Corvallis community values education by generously supporting bond measures and local levies over the years, it is frustrating to face a situation where our community has limited options to prevent significant cuts to the services provided to our students.

So, what can we do as a community to support our schools? There is no single solution, but there are ways you can make a difference.

• Be educated about, and engaged in, the budget process. View recent Budget Committee meetings to learn more about the considerations, deliberations, and trade-offs involved in the latest budget process. Attend or view upcoming CSD Board meetings to stay engaged and informed.

• Advocate for school funding by asking our state leaders, especially the House and Senate Committees on Education, to fully fund our schools according to the Quality Education Model. This becomes increasingly important as we approach the legislative session in January. Make sure our leaders know that we want them to prioritize school funding.

• Support local housing for all by attending Planning Commission, Corvallis City Council, and Benton County Commission meetings when housing in Corvallis is on the agenda. These decision-makers regularly hear from vocal opponents to proposed projects, but they need to know that there is community-wide interest in providing affordable housing throughout the CSD boundary.

• Continue, and even increase, your financial support of the Corvallis Public Schools Foundation. Last year we raised more than $800K to support critical school programs that help all students succeed and realize the promise of their education. Together, our community can do even more to provide resources for priority programs like access to the arts, materials for school libraries, and intervention and enrichment programs that are often most vulnerable when funds are tight, but play a critical role in preparing our students for success in school and in life.

Just as the community made a difference 28 years ago by establishing the Corvallis Public Schools Foundation, today your volunteerism, advocacy, and continued financial support can help ensure that our students have the resources and opportunities they need to succeed.

Together we can all make a difference for Corvallis schools!

With gratitude,