Preliminary results have Sami Al-Abdrabbuh handily leading the race for Corvallis School Board Position #1. He has 57% of the vote. Challengers Chris Blacker and Charlotte Willer garnered 26% and 16% respectively.
Incumbents ran unopposed for the other three Board positions on the ballot.
During the campaign, all three candidates offered differing views on the best course forward for the district during a difficult time. Enrollments have declined at Corvallis Schools. And with State School Fund dollar distributions largely tied to enrollment, Corvallis Schools have found themselves in a budget crunch. To make ends meet, the district has laid off some staff and reduced programs. But not everyone has agreed those cuts were the best ones.
There will almost certainly be budget reductions going forward too. And just what those reductions should be has been a bone of contention throughout the community and between the three candidates.
The district’s academic performance has also been an issue. In the last two years, 3rd grade reading averages at Corvallis Schools rose by 13%. Students meeting 3rd grade standards are now up to 51%, and that is 11% higher than the state’s per student average. 8th grade math is up 6% with a 42% average which is 15% higher than the state average of 27%.
Over a longer period, averages had been better for some of the years predating the pandemic – and many parents view the present progress as overly slow. There is often the refrain that this is an education centered town, and that the district’s reading and math scores don’t reflect that. Many parents also hold that view that the district doesn’t offer adequate help for students needing enhanced support to come to the average, or the opportunities to excel past it.
Throughout the campaign, Al-Abdrabbuh successfully pointed to a track record of making contacts throughout the state, and more recently nationally, and how that has translated to successful lobbying for increased funding and other benefits for Corvallis Schools, and increased opportunities for the district’s students.
Al-Abdrabbuh, also, more than the other candidates, cited the lived experiences of students in the district, and what those experiences mean for them after they graduate. For instance, during the debate we co-hosted with City Club of Corvallis, he spoke directly to students not because they vote, but because he believed it was the right thing to do.
By contrast, Blacker whose background is in mathematics and information technology, frequently cited statistics and administrative decisions that he sees as demonstrative of a district falling short and failing to anticipate. He viewed the program reductions and layoffs as avoidable outcomes issuing from a lack of planning.
He expressed the idea the district could save enough money closing Mountain View and Kathryn Jones Harrison elementary schools to both keep more teachers and reduce class sizes – and to maintain special interest programs like art and music at prior levels. He also advocated for borrowing from the School’s rainy fund.
However, it came out during the campaign that the district is already working on a school closure plan – less immediate, but more studied and data driven, and looking at a wider array of factors. Borrowing from the rain day fund seemed to be a nonstarter for voters.
Over the course of the campaign, Willer expressed that she was running because public school enrollments continue to slide. She noted that area private school attendances are increasing at the same time. She said a loss of parent confidence in the School District is behind that juxtaposition. However, in the run-up to election day, Blacker made the case the enrollment declines are mostly tied to falling birth rates nationally – a trend that has been even more precipitous in Benton County.
Willer specifically pointed to a sense shared by many parents that the district is teaching to the lowest common denominator. She expressed worries that the district isn’t adequately breaking students into smaller groups with specific needs.
Al-Abdrabbuh pushed back, pointing to the district’s remaining programs, and he advocated for protecting spending for students with the most needs.
11,320 votes have been counted. 6,499 going to Al-Abdrabbuh, 2,977 going to Blacker, and 1,797 for Willer. There were 47 write-in votes.
This story was last updated at 9:24 am, Wednesday, May 21. We will continue to update this story as results come in. June 16 is the last day for the County to deliver certified official election results abstracts.
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