Last week we offered a sampling of Corvallis preschools, each quite different from the other – all with two common denominators, slots that fill quickly, and each costing more than a struggling journalist can pay. Preschool can be expensive, unless it’s free.
Kristi Collins saw our story, and emailed to let us know about the Early Learning Hub of Linn, Benton and Lincoln Counties. Collins would be an authority on the state run program that’s housed at the Linn-Benton Community College Child Care Center – given she’s the director for the program in this area.
We took a brief moment to speak with her, and she pointed to what amounts to a marketplace of resources that make preschool either more affordable, or even free. Click here to learn more.
Dear Reader: If you’re onto something that other parents may want to know, please feel free to let us know. And, if you need confidentiality, we can do that.
Historic Museum Day Trips: Whether thinking forward to diversions for Spring Break or just this upcoming weekend, history museums offer a daytrip option rich with sights and stories that can lead a kiddo to an interest that’s enriching lifelong. These spots can also gives them stories to share with friends , or even their own kids someday – so how cool is that.
So, we’ve compiled a list of not too distant historic sites and museums, and some of them are either mostly or completely free. Please let us know if there’s anything that we could add that’s within a short drive.
Benton County Historic Museum in Corvallis: Specialized in all that is local, there’s exhibits for all, and for the older kids, this museum also offers frequent talks. Housed in a new state-of-the-art building, children will also get to experience an indoor environment that is unique in Corvallis. We love that the lobby features Bruce the Moose. $5 for adults, free for ages 18 and under or anyone with an Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) cards. Because it’s local, it’s easy to work into the schedule when you have less than a whole day, and we love the proximity to some of our favorite local restaurants. Tip: if you can book a couple weeks ahead, your family can get the 45 minute guided Sample Tour.
Albany Historic Carousel Museum: If you love the idea of riding an historic carousel, and who doesn’t, it’s just a short trip from Corvallis. It’s only $2 a ride, and if you’re driving the family into Albany for a show or something, it’s definitely worth adding this stop to your agenda. Tip: The food critics among our staff say there’s an eclectic mix of restaurants in Albany, and you owe it to yourself to check them out.
Brownsville Historic Pioneer Museum: Brownsville’s original railroad depot and six Southern Pacific railroad cars. Collections cover the lives, work, and cultures of Native People, Oregon Trail immigrants, Black and White pioneer settlers, and the early families and communities of Linn County. You will also find an exhibit on the movie Stand By Me, which was filmed in Brownsville. There’s even a 29 seat boxcar theater. Tip: The Historic Moyer House is just a block and half away, and its open on weekends or by appointment. Admission is by donation, but Moyer House is $5 per adult, $1 per child.
Thompson’s Mills State Heritage Site: Located in Shedd, the site is a unique survivor of times past, chronicling 160 years of Oregon rural life and honoring the owners who continually adapted the mill to the changing world around it. It is the last water-powered mill in the state and its turbines can be seen in action on guided tours.
The Pacific Maritime Heritage Center: Located in Newport, this museum’s exhibits and programming are dedicated to telling the stories of those who share a desire to live and work where sea meets land, and along its rivers and estuaries. Exhibits include Our Beautiful & Wild Oregon: Fisheries 150 Years of Innovation, and Rescued, Recovered and Lost: Oregon Shipwrecks. $10 for adults, $5 for ages 13 to 17, free for children 12 and under.
North Lincoln County Historical Museum: Located in Lincoln City, they offer rotating exhibits in-person and as videos. Right now they have a Sears & Roebuck exhibit focused on items from the late 1800s to 1930, a Glass Float odyssey exhibit and Cascade Retrospective. Free for all ages.
Yaquina Bay Lighthouse: Not to be confused with the Yaquina HEAD Lighthouse to the north, this one is the one at the BAY. Built in 1871, it is believed to be the oldest structure in Newport. This lighthouse is an actual house, and the fixtures and furnishings easily lead to daydreams of prior inhabitants. Two flights of stairs lead to the command center. Tip: Lore has it there’s a ghost walking the halls of this abode, which isn’t on the website, but do ask one of the volunteer docents. Also, the ghost isn’t creepy, the place has a warm and inviting feel to it. Admission is free.
Notably, the Albany Regional Museum is missing due to a remodel, they anticipate reopening in May. We also left out the Yaquina Head Lighthouse because the upper floors are currently closed for remodeling – quite probably it’s still worth visiting, but look for a separate story when they fully reopen.
April Live & Learn Classes: Signup now while there’s slots in these popular parent/child classes. Linn-Benton Community College says these offerings are about gaining parenting skills – which strictly speaking, is true – but really, they’re simply great fun. There’s separate levels for newborn, wobbler, toddler and beyond, with full descriptions of what each level means at LBCC. Click here to learn more and register.
Old Mill Center Supplies Drive: At their Corvallis site, Old Mill hosts a Resource Closet that all of their client families can access. They stock it with kid’s clothes, diapers, food, hygiene and household products. Right now, they’re low on cleaning supplies and need your help to stock up. They want you to know that each small thing you do to relieve stress for a family makes a difference. You can drop items to them at 1650 SW 45th Place, Corvallis. Click here for a shopping list of items that can help.
School District Dress Code Updated: With inclusiveness and a sussing of just who is responsible for what as goals, an overhaul of the district’s student dress code was approved at last week’s School Board meeting.
“This is another step in what has been a long road toward making the district a comfortable and inclusive learning environment for all of our students,” said School Board member Vince Adams, “And, we really got here because of the student members of our Board, they drove a crucial part of this process.”
Here’s What the New Dress Code Says: The Corvallis School District recognizes the right to free expression and the value of diversity, including the diversity in dress and general appearance. Students are free to express their gender identities and pride in their queer, racial, ethnic, and/or cultural identities through dress and grooming. Students also have the right to a nondisruptive, safe, and healthy educational environment at school.
All students are to be treated equally with regard to dress and grooming regardless of gender, gender identity, gender expression, sex, sexual orientation, race1 , ethnicity, culture, color, age, marital status, body type/size, disability, nationality, national origin, and religion.
Students and staff should understand that they are responsible for managing their own personal distractions without regulating student clothing and/or self-expression.
Students must wear clothing at school including a shirt, a bottom (pants/shorts/skirt/dress or the equivalent), and shoes. Clothing must cover body parts generally considered private (genitals, buttocks, and nipples) with fabric that is not see-through. Clothes that are considered permissible for one gender, are permissible for students of all gender identities.
Responsibility for dress rests primarily with students and their parents. However, the district expects student clothing to meet standards which ensure the following: 1. Clothing does not depict, advertise, or advocate the use of alcohol, tobacco, marijuana, or other controlled substances. 2. Clothing does not depict weapons. 3. Clothing does not depict pornography, obscenity, nudity, or sexual acts. 4. Clothing does not use or depict hate speech (including symbols of hate2 ) targeting groups based on race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, religious affiliation, or any other protected group.
State School Fund Update: Education advocates’ most anticipated bill, the State School Fund, has appeared. Now, Oregon legislators are getting a tutorial on exactly what it will pay for.
The Joint Ways and Means Education Subcommittee has planned 10 hearings on House Bill 5015, the State School Fund bill, and HB 5014, the related bill that pays for the Oregon Department of Education. The hearings started March 7 and will run into next week.
Subcommittee Co-Chair Rep. Susan McLain, D-Hillsboro, said legislators are doing the reviews “to make sure the money is in the right place for the right purposes.”
Legislative Highlights is offering a weekly look at the State School Fund process, “Funding Oregon’s Future.” HB 5015 will be public schools advocates’ most-watched bill.
HB 5015 allocates $9.9 billion for the State School Fund, the amount in Gov. Tina Kotek’s recommended budget, but it is by no means the final say on how much money schools will get. Oregon’s actual budget is written by the Ways and Means Committee.
The committee’s co-chairs usually put out a framework budget in the next few weeks that includes a State School Fund proposal. That’s when the real haggling starts as advocates for different issues and programs argue for a share of the state’s money.
Oregon must have a balanced budget. According to the most recent economic forecast, Oregon will have $31.4 billion in General Fund and lottery resources to spend in 2023-25. State analysts estimate it will take most of that for the state to maintain what it’s doing now.
But the Legislature is wading through more than 2,500 bills, many involving new costs. At the top of the heap are bills to address homelessness, early learning and workforce shortages that could cost hundreds of millions.
Education advocates are seeking a State School Fund of $10.3 billion, the amount school business officials agree it would take for most school districts to avoid cuts. But legislative proposals ranging from adding panic alarms and carbon detectors to schools to increasing staff pay could add significant costs to budgets.
Last Thursday, ODE Director of School Finance Mike Wiltfong told legislators that school district budgets just don’t have much wiggle room to absorb new costs. Current school budgets are almost entirely devoted to fulfilling state and federal mandates.
Subcommittee member Rep. Emily McIntire, a Republican who is an Eagle Point School Board member, told the committee of the difficulty of trying to meet the additional needs of high-performing and low-performing students when the district barely has adequate money for its core functions.
The State School Fund discussion starts with the so-called “current service level” calculations, which attempt to extrapolate what it will cost in the next two years to keep doing what schools are already doing. School business officials said the state’s estimate falls grossly short of actual costs.
Wiltfong noted for legislators that the state’s methodology uses past expense models and trends to try to predict future costs.
“The challenge we have before us is that we are in unprecedented times,” he said.
Most of the HB 5015 and 5014 hearings are devoted to information about ODE agencies, but the hearings on Thursday and Monday, March 13, were devoted specifically to the State School Fund.
With nearly all the subcommittee’s members having experience in the classroom or board room, the legislators’ questions and debates have frequently veered into not only the ways Oregon is spending on schools but also how much it should be spending.
The subcommittee’s page has links to future online meetings on HB 5015 and 5014 as well as recordings of the previous sessions. The subcommittee has pulled together a trove of meeting materials that include Legislative Fiscal Office analysis of the budgets and hundreds of ODE slides.
The Legislature sometimes adds to the governor’s proposal, and HB 5015 can be amended in the subcommittee or when it gets heard in the full Ways and Means Committee. It is rare for the amount to change after it leaves Ways and Means and goes for a vote in the House and Senate.
Because Ways and Means is not bound by committee bill deadlines, HB 5015 could linger until the closing days of the Legislature in late June. OSBA Legislative Services Director Lori Sattenspiel doesn’t expect it to go that long, though.
HB 5015 is the state’s biggest single expense, so it affects every other spending bill. Sattenspiel said OSBA and other education advocates will push for the bill to pass as soon as possible so school districts can set their budgets. School budgets must be finalized by June 30.
By Advocate staff, with the School Fund Update from Jake Arnold, a communications and news specialist with the Oregon School Board Association.
