February 28, 2022 11:00 a.m.  

The Oregon House has unanimously passed House Bill 4026 A, which will provide support to school districts affected by the 2020 wildfires.

A release from the Oregon House Democrats said the bill provides stable funding for impacted school districts through the 2024-25 school year.

Representative Pam Marsh, a Democrat from Jackson County said, “As we rebuild and recover, our community needs strong schools more than ever. This bill will stabilize wildfire-impacted schools and ensure that teachers and students have the resources they need to be successful”.

The release said in the aftermath of the 2020 Labor Day wildfires, school districts in wildfire-affected areas have reported significant losses in enrollment, leading to millions of dollars of lost funding for teachers, social and emotional supports, and targeted programs like career and technical education and dropout prevention. Democrats said students navigating poverty and students in rural communities have been disproportionately affected by lost funding. Oregon’s school funding formula is based on student attendance numbers.

HB 4026 A provides grant funding to wildfire-impacted school districts for 4 school years through 2024-25. The grants will be calculated based on the district’s lost funding compared to the number of students enrolled during the 2019-20 school year.

The school districts eligible for assistance are:

*Phoenix-Talent in Jackson County

*Santiam County in Linn County

*Lincoln County School District

*McKenzie School District in Lane County

These 4 districts have collectively reported the loss of over 500 students due to wildfire-related displacement.

The legislation passed 60-0 and now moves to the Senate for consideration.