Union County school districts will use state funding to retain to retain their staffs

Jul. 23—UNION COUNTY — The challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic have brought out the best in many of the teachers and staff in Union County's public schools.

And now these school districts are stepping forward to show their gratitude.

This point is clear based on how school districts are responding to House Bill 4030, which the Legislature passed earlier this year. The legislation provides about $70 million to Oregon school districts to help them recruit new staff members and retain their current ones, as they recover from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Representatives from Union County's public schools across the board indicated the HB 4030 money they are receiving will be used to help retain current staff members, not recruit new ones.

The La Grande School District, which will receive $270,000 in HB 4030 funding, will be using all of it to give teachers and staff members additional training to help them better support students and their families, said Assistant Superintendent Scott Carpenter.

The Union School District is set to receive a little more than $40,000 in funding from HB 4030. All of this funding will go directly to the school district's employees.

"We will divert all of it to our staff for retention. We are saying thank you for all the sacrifices our staff has made," said Union School District Superintendent Carter Wells, referring to the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Elgin School District will receive about $50,000 in House Bill 4030 funding. Elgin Superintendent Dianne Greif said all of the funding will be used for staff development.

Inventive incentives

The approximately $40,000 of funding North Powder School District will receive also will all go toward helping current teachers and staff, said Superintendent Lance Dixon.

"It will be used for professional development," Dixon said.

The money will go toward helping staff members who want to become teachers pay for the college credits they need and compensating mentors assisting new teachers. Dixon noted that new teachers often have many questions about how to do things but may be reluctant to ask them because they don't want to bother their colleagues. Dixon said that when a teacher who is paid extra to also be a mentor is available, new educators will feel more comfortable going to such a teacher for advice.

The North Powder superintendent said he would not want the HB 4030 funding to be spent on things like signing bonuses for new teachers or other recruiting incentives. He said this would not be fair to educators who have worked at the school district for many years.

The Cove School District will also be using the state funding to boost retention — with a twist. Two elliptical exercise machines for staff members will be purchased with some of the money. The exercise machines are meant to provide the opportunity for staff members who want to work out on such devices but may not be able to get into La Grande enough to use them in its exercise gyms, said Cove Superintendent Earl Pettit.

The HB 4030 funding will also be used to help Cove staff members pay tuition for college courses needed to earn endorsements that will qualify them to teach a wider range of subjects, Pettit said.

The Imbler School District will be receiving $48,000 in HB 4030 funds, and first-year Superintendent Randy Waite said the money will be used to help maintain its strong retention rate. He said his school district is fortunate to have a staff filled with members who want to stay.

"We are lucky in this way," Waite said.

Dick Mason is a reporter with The Observer. Contact him at 541-624-6016 or dmason@lagrandeobserver.com.