Sisters man impacts national education policy

Sisters resident Scott Pillar recently returned from Washington D.C. where he attended the Federal Relations Network Conference hosted by the National School Boards Association.

Pillar is the Board Chairman of the High Desert Education Service District in Redmond and serves as a board member of the Oregon School Boards Association in Salem.

One goal of the conference was to encourage legislators and cabinet members to make positive changes to the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) which is up for reauthorization this year.

"There are some really good things about that law, but it's inflexible," said Pillar. He said one example is that the "testing model isn't working." After hearing politicians talk about NCLB, Pillar is confident there will be some "common sense" changes made this year.

Another goal of the conference was to encourage full funding for Individuals With Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) which provides money for Special Education Students.

"Congress promised to fund 40 percent of the cost of educating special needs kids. Right now, they are funding about 14 percent with funding remaining flat for this year. As Special Education costs rise, schools are forced to redirect monies from other programs. It is another unfunded mandate," said Pillar.

The conference featured speeches by Senator Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.) and U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings.

"Secretary Spellings even took some questions which surprised me. Some of the board members in attendance gave her an earful, but she handled it well. She did say that NCLB could use a few changes which was different than her previous stance that the law was "99.9 percent pure," said Pillar.

On the final day of the conference, attendees were encouraged to visit with their congressional delegation to secure their commitment to public education.

"Our group met with the entire Oregon delegation or their staff members. Our meeting with Congressman Greg Walden went particularly well. He was really well versed on these issues," said Pillar.

Pillar said as a product of Oregon schools, he is happy to devote his time to serve on various education boards.

"That's the most important thing we can do as a society is to educate our young people," said Pillar.

Pillar visited the impressive House Gallery while he was in D.C.

"Being there makes you feel like you can make a difference, even if just in a small way," said Pillar.