ESD leaders develop merger plan

ISLAND CITY — A major change may be on the horizon for the Union-Baker Education Service District — one that would forever change its identity.

The Union-Baker ESD may soon merge with the Umatilla-Morrow ESD or be split between the Umatilla-Morrow and Malheur ESDs. These are two options being considered by leaders of the Union-Baker, Umatilla-Morrow and Malheur ESDs as they formulate a voluntary merger plan.

“The process is going well. We have had very open discussions on what might work,’’ said Mike Sowder, the Union-Baker ESD’s superintendent.

Any final proposal agreed upon by the three ESDs must be submitted to the Oregon Department of Education for approval. The ODE will then hold a public hearing and decide on whether to give the plan a thumbs up. Should the ODE approve a proposal this spring a transition year would start July 1 and run through June 2010. The new consolidated ESD or ESDs would officially be in place July 1, 2010.

ESD officials are developing plans for a merger for three reasons:

• the Union-Baker ESD is financially strapped and thus hard-pressed to provide adequate funding for educational services, Sowder said.

• consolidation would allow for more efficient use of funding for student programs.

• the state may soon mandate the consolidation of ESDs throughout Oregon. This is a realistic possibility because a bill was introduced in this year’s legislative session calling for ESD consolidation, one which was seriously discussed. Senate Bill 574 would have mandated that the state’s 20 ESDs be consolidated into 13. SB 574 died at the end of the legislative session, but many believe a bill forcing consolidation will be strongly considered by the Legislature in the future, Sowder said.

Mandated consolidation is not something Soward would want.

“It is beneficial for us to do it on our own terms rather than being told how to do it by the state,’’ Sowder said.

Should a proposal calling for the Union-Baker ESD to be split be agreed upon, Union County school districts would be consolidated with the Umatilla-Morrow ESD and Baker County school districts with the Malheur ESD. The Umatilla-Morrow ESD’s headquarters would remain in Pendleton and the Malheur ESD’s in Ontario. Union and Baker counties would have satellite offices.

Les Balsiger, a member of the Union-Baker ESD Board, believes the drive toward a voluntary merger is progressing smoothly.

“I don’t see any major problems,’’ Balsiger said.

He believes a voluntary merger would be beneficial because it would allow ESDs to operate more efficiently and thus provide more services to students.

“We will do it because on the whole it is best for kids,’’ Balsiger said.

The Union-Baker ESD now has about 40 employees, about half of which are full time. Sowder said that if a voluntary merger does go through the employees now with Union-Baker ESD would be hired by the consolidated ESD or ESDs.