Oregon Republicans center education in governor primary campaign
oregon Republican candidates for governor are making education a central issue before the May 19 primary, with Christine Drazan pointing to weak reading and math results and a shorter school year. Federal education data ranks Oregon 36th in eighth-grade reading and 40th in math.
The candidates are tying those numbers to specific changes they say they would make if elected. Their proposals include longer school days, different counting of learning time, and more control from the governor’s office over public education.
Christine Drazan on Oregon scores
Drazan said the state’s schools are among the worst in the nation for reading and math at the third- and fourth-grade levels. She told voters, “We have to have good schools. We are worst in the nation for reading and math in third and fourth grade. Right now we're right at the bottom couple of states. Not good enough. Not good. Not even not even close to good enough”
Those results sit alongside federal data showing Oregon at 36th out of 50 states in eighth-grade reading proficiency and 40th in math. For parents weighing the race, the numbers are the clearest marker of what the candidates are trying to change before students move through the system.
Chris Dudley and Danielle Bethell
Chris Dudley focused on the time students spend in school, saying, “If a kid from Washington and a kid from Oregon meet up right now, the kid and they both graduated high school, the kid from Washington has gone the equivalent of one full school year, more than the kid from Oregon”
Oregon averages about 165 school days, roughly 15 to 20 days fewer than the common 180-day standard. The state also allows up to 30 hours of parent-teacher conferences and up to 30 hours of professional development to count as learning days. Dudley’s comparison puts that gap at the center of the campaign.
Danielle Bethell added a classroom complaint of her own, saying, “One of the issues that we're facing in classrooms today is teachers are spending more time in their, continuing education space, not on academics. They're focusing more on social emotional learning, diversity, equity, inclusion, comprehensive sex education and other things that are not targeted to reading, writing and math comprehension and phonics”
Ed Diehl on public education
Ed Diehl said he would try to use the governor’s office to control the school system more directly. “As governor, I'll be the superintendent of public education. And with that, comes control over that education system. I am talking to teachers who are just as frustrated as we are talking to teachers who who are getting abused in the classroom and they feel helpless because there's nothing they can do”
That leaves voters with a concrete choice ahead of May 19: whether Oregon’s next governor should focus on test scores, the length of the school year, or more direct oversight from the state’s top office. Education is no longer a side issue in the race; it is the issue the candidates are using to define it.
