The vehicle to transport these line items became the school distribution formula alteration bill, HB 2566. The bill's controversial aspects came from the fact that by moving money around, winners and losers were created among Oregon's 198 school districts. Its successor, HB 2567, was quickly developed to enhance the facilities grant already found in the distribution formula, a fix that OEA could support. This will mean layoffs and program cuts for some districts, and no district will achieve a level of funding adequate to restore programs lost in a decade's worth of cuts. OEA objected to the final product because of lax standards for teacher licensure and lack of protections for collective bargaining and due process.
Charter schools are exempt from most rules and statutes.
Neither fair dismissal nor public employee collective bargaining laws apply unless provided for in the charter itself. Employees of charter schools may be members of a labor organization or organize with other employees to bar- gain collectively. Bargaining units at charter schools may be separate from other bargaining units of the sponsor or employees of the charter schools may be part of the existing bargaining unit of the sponsor. Both goals are closer to being reached due to the passage of this bill. As enacted, a district could seek approval of an alternative form if approved by ODE within 10 days of submission.