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- About Us
- Funding overview, Budget and Apportionment
- Service Area
- School District Enrollment and Total ADMw
- Resolution/Local Service Plan Process
- Our Services
- Our Mission & Guiding Principles

  - Printable version of this page

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ABOUT US
Printable "Quick Facts" Sheet

Introduction: The Northwest Regional ESD is the largest and most diverse education service district in the state.

Two of Oregon’s largest school districts—Beaverton and Hillsboro—reside in the urban parts of Washington County while many smaller, more rural districts reside along the Columbia River, Coast Range Mountains and Pacific Ocean.

This diversity in size, landscape and geography makes the region one of the most attractive spots in Oregon and an area where supplemental services provided by NWRESD are in great demand by schools large and small.

Purpose (Oregon Revised Statute ORS.334.005): Education service districts originated in Oregon's first laws establishing a general system of common schools - a system that has maintained but changed the responsibilities and names of Oregon's mid-level education service entity.

Throughout the history of Oregon's regional services system, local governance and state statutes concerning the mission of ESDs has remained somewhat constant: "Education Service Districts assist school districts and the State of Oregon achieving Oregon's education goals by providing excellent and equitable educational opportunities for all Oregon public school students."

Today, there are 19 ESDs serving Oregon’s 36 counties.

Click here to learn about the major periods in the development of Oregon's ESDs.

Demographics

• Component school districts: 20
• Public schools: 184
• K-12 students in the region: 117,686.6 Extended ADMw (ODE Estimate as of July 06, 2011)
• Approximate square miles: 3,500
• 2011-12 total budget: $125.4 million—includes $34.1 million through the State School Funding (SSF) formula.
• Employees:  Approximately 500 Licensed, classified and administrative staff
• Overview: Special Student Services represents the largest area of service provided by the Northwest Regional ESD. During the 2010-11 school year, the district served over 4,000 children—birth to age 5—in Early Intervention/Early Childhood Special Education Programs in Clatsop, Columbia, Tillamook and Washington counties. Services were also provided to 1,900 young children and students with autism, orthopedic impairments, vision impairments, hearing impairments, and speech impairments through the ESD’s Related Services Department. In addition, 400 students were enrolled in School Age Behavioral Programs operated by NWRESD in 2010-11.

Annual Report: Click here to download our 2009-10 Annual Report, detailing services provided and funds expended for each of our 20 component school districts.

FUNDING OVERVIEW, BUDGET and APPORTIONMENT

FUNDING OVERVIEW Education service districts in Oregon are funded through multiple sources: Property taxes, state timber tax receipts, the State School Fund (SSF), and both state and federal contracts and grants. Northwest Regional ESD's general fund funding comes from a set amount per ADMw which stands for Average Daily Membership weighted (see tables below). This amount is made up of property taxes at a permanent rate of .1536 per $1,000 of assessed value, state timber tax receipts. The balance comes from the state of Oregon in state school fund support. In 2011-12 the local funding (property taxes and timber receipts) amount per ADMw is projected to be $74.83, and state funding is projected to be $221.53, for a total of $296.36 per ADMw. BUDGET The ESD’s total operating budget for 2011-12 is $125.4 million, including $34.1 million through the State School Fund (SSF) formula. APPORTIONMENT Note: NWRESD uses the method below to distribute state funds to component school districts as well as for operations. Other Oregon ESD's use different models. - 10% of the ESD’s state support goes to operating the agency, and the remaining 90% is reserved for programs and services provided to our component school districts. - 25% of the 90% goes to Core Services - those services agreed upon by the districts that are offered at no cost such as school improvement, some technology, special education, service center administration, and miscellaneous services such as the courier and emergency closure system. - The remaining 75% of the 90% is allocated in Service Credits based on each component school district’s enrollment. The ESD offers a menu of services that districts may purchase using their Service Credits. - State contracts provide the rest of NWRESD’s revenue source, representing over half of the budget, funding Early Intervention/Early Childhood Education and Long-Term Care and Treatment programs.

SERVICE AREA

The Northwest Regional ESD’s service area includes more than 180 public schools in Clatsop, Columbia, Tillamook and Washington counties — spanning approximately 3,500 square miles across the northwest corner of Oregon. The Regional Office is located in Hillsboro, with additional service centers located in Astoria, St. Helens, and Tillamook.

TOTAL ADMw FOR NWRESD's FOUR-COUNTY REGION

117,686.6 (ADMw Extended. Source: Oregon Dept. of Education as of 07/06/11)

This represents the combined average daily membership-weighted, for the 20 school districts in Clatsop, Columbia, Tillamook and Washington counties for 2011-12.

ENROLLMENT BY DISTRICT (2011-12 ADMw-extended)
(Source: Oregon Dept. of Education as of July 6, 2011)

Clatsop County Astoria 2,235.4 Seaside 1,697.0 Warrenton Hammond 1,099.1 Knappa 651.7 Jewell 290.8 TOTAL 5,974.0		Tillamook County Tillamook 2,273.4 Neah-Kah-Nie 916.0 Nestucca Valley 742.8 TOTAL 3,932.2
Columbia County St. Helens 3913.01 Scappoose 2522.46 Rainier 1,208.3 Clatskanie 972.3 Vernonia 816.3 TOTAL 9,432.4 Back to top>>		Washington County Beaverton 45202.44 Hillsboro 23999.25 Tigard-Tualatin 14273.87 Forest Grove 7505.42 Sherwood 5478.07 Banks 1280.83 Gaston 608.1 TOTAL 98,348.0

LOCAL SERVICE PLAN

Download the 2010-11 Local Service Plan

What is a Local Service Plan?

• Each ESD, with their component school districts, must annually develop a Local Service Plan which determines how the State School Funds (SSF), will be used. Ninety percent of the SSF revenue received by an ESD is subject to this process.
• The Local Service Plan determines programs and services that the ESD will offer its component districts for the following fiscal year.
• The Plan must include services from at least the following categories:
  • Special education
  • Technology
  • School improvement and administration
• The Plan must also include any "entrepreneurial services" that the ESD intends to offer to any entity either outside of the ESD boundary or inside the ESD boundary but not a component school district.
• Under the Resolution Process, at least two-thirds of the school districts in an ESD, representing more than one-half of the student population, must approve the Local Service Plan.

OUR SERVICES

	Special Student Services: Early Intervention (Birth to 3) Early Childhood Special Education (3-5); Behavioral Programs (K-12); Related Services (Birth to 21).
	Instructional Services: Curriculum and Staff Development; School Improvement Services; Professional Development; Migrant/English Language Learner (ELL) Services; Northwest Outdoor Science School; Tillamook County Health Services Academy and Hospitality, Tourism and Recreation Program; GED Testing Services; and Title VII Indian Education Services.
	Technology Services: Technology Services to Schools; Software & Application Support; Management Information Systems (MIS); Testing & Assessment Scoring Services; Multimedia; Videoconferencing.
	Other Support Services: Truancy Enforcement, Home School Registration, and Courier Services. Back to top >>

MAJOR PERIODS IN ESD HISTORY

	1849-1871	Origination and foundation established
	1872-1944	The County Unit as regulatory arm of the state
	1945-1962	Rural School Districts and equalization
	1963-1976	Became Intermediate Education Districts (IEDs)/Advent of Services
	1994	Passage of SB 26, the ESD Reorganization Act
	1997	Passage of Ballot Measure 47 & 50 converted ESD tax bases to "rates"
	1977-Present	Became Education Service Districts (ESDs)
	1998-present	The era of funding regional services on an equity-based formula
	2005	Passage of HB 3184 implementing ESD funding and governance reforms.
	2007	Passage of SB 255 staggering board member terms of office
	2011	Passage of SB 250 implementing ESD funding and service reforms

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1945—The Legislature created the county "rural school district." In the early 1960s, rural school districts began to provide special education services for disabled children. The Legislature studied the role of the county school superintendent's office and its potential for the future. In 1963, it replaced the "rural school district" title with "Intermediate Education District" (IED). 

1977—The Legislature changed the name of the intermediate education district to "education service district." This change reflected the growing recognition that the county office had become a major service center for local districts. Also, the passage of the Public Law 94-142, the federal legislation guaranteeing to all students with handicaps the right to a free and appropriate education, made the ESD's role as a provider of special education services even more important and necessary, as did the State's increased interest in early intervention and early childhood education programs, the same of which was occurring on a national basis. 

1991—The Legislature authorized a task force to study regional services on a statewide basis. The 1993 Legislature passed SB 26, the ESD Reorganization Act, which required the merger of 29 ESDs down to 21, including the annexation of six county units (Crook, Klamath, Lincoln, Morrow, Hood River, and Josephine) into one of the remaining 21 ESDs, i.e., Linn-Benton ESD annexed Lincoln County School District and became a three-county unit named Linn-Benton-Lincoln ESD; and Clatsop, Columbia, Tillamook, and Washington ESDs began the merger process to become the Northwest Regional ESD. (In 2003 Yamhill ESD voluntarily merged with Willamette ESD to further reduce the number of ESDs in the state to 20.) Back to top >>

1996—Clatsop, Columbia, Tillamook, and Washington ESDs officially consolidated to become the Northwest Regional ESD. The consolidation resulted in the formation of one of the largest and most diverse education service districts in the state. Two of Oregon's largest school districts—Beaverton and Hillsboro—reside in the urban parts of Washington County while many smaller, more rural districts reside along the Columbia River, Coast Range Mountains and Pacific Ocean. This diversity in culture, size, landscape and geography creates an area where supplemental services provided by NWRESD are in great demand by schools large and small. 

2000—The Legislature completed an interim task force study of ESDs. As a result of that study, the Legislature passed two major pieces of legislation: SB 259 and SB 260. Senate Bill 259 reestablished the primary mission of ESDs: "The mission of Education Service Districts is to assist school districts and the Department of Education in achieving Oregon's educational goals by providing equitable, high quality, cost-effective and locally responsive educational services at a regional level." Back to top >>

SB 259 also establishes that ESDs exist to help:

1. Ensure an equitable and excellent education for all children in the state
2. Implement the Oregon Educational Act for the 21st Century
3. Foster the attainment of high standards of performance by all students in Oregon's public schools
4. Facilitate inter-organizational coordination and cooperation among educational, social service, health care and employment training agencies.

Senate Bill 260 addressed two major issues regarding ESD funding:

1. Through a progressive five-year process, funding was equalized across Oregon ESDs in fiscal year 2005-2006.
2. ESD funding became connected to local district funding in that a small portion of the State School Fund allocation to a region is distributed to the ESD with the remainder distributed to local districts in accordance with the state funding formula. In fiscal year 2001-2002, 4.888% of the region's State School Fund allocation was used to fund the ESD. That percentage increased gradually over the next four years, such that in the fiscal year 2004-2005, 5.097% of the regional State School Fund allocation was used to fund ESDs. Back to top >>

2005—The Legislature passed House Bill 3184 which implemented reforms to ESD funding and governance.

Beginning with the 2006-2007 school year, the K-12 state budget formula changed: School districts now receive 95.25% of the region's State School Fund allocation and ESDs will receive 4.75%.

High Desert ESD, Willamette ESD and Northwest Regional ESD were selected to pilot the governance reform portion of the new law:

1. The terms of the 2005-06 Board members will expired on June 30, 2006.
2. For the purpose of modifying the governance of the ESD’s involved in the pilot project, their regions were divided up into zones of approximately equal population and the zones could not cross district boundaries. From each of these zones, each school district board within the zone had one vote to cast to determine representation on the ESD board. That process will produce five ESD board members who took office July 1, 2006. They in turn appointed one board member from each of the following regional groups: higher education, social services, the business community, and one at-large member.
3. The appointees took office on August 8, 2006. The result was a new nine-member ESD boards whose terms were to all expire on June 30, 2010.

2007—The Legislature passed Senate Bill 755 which staggered terms of office for Northwest Regional ESD board members, effective Jan. 1, 2008. In addition, the bill allows for ESD appointed board members to take a stance on political issues.

2011—The Legislature passed Senate Bill 250 which allows local districts in the NWRESD region to withdraw from the ESD beginning with the 2012-13 school year.  A district must notify the agency in November of the prior year of their intent to withdraw and provide final notice and official action to withdraw by March 1. 

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MISSION

“To provide equitable support to our school districts in their mission to educate all students.”

GUIDING PRINCIPLES

Our Customers

• Will be treated with respect, dignity and professionalism.
  
• Will have fair and equal access to NWRESD programs and services.
  
• Will have ample opportunity for input regarding programs and services provided by the NWRESD, as well as evaluative responses regarding their quality.

Our Services

• Will be aligned to the needs and priorities of our component districts and the Oregon Department of Education.
  
• Will represent quality, innovative and cost- effective options.
  
• Will maximize fiscal and human resources consistent with the district's mission and guiding principles.

Our Staff

• Represent efforts to hire the most talented, qualified, dedicated people who make a positive difference in the lives of young children, students and their families.
  
• Actively participate in continuous self and program improvement opportunities.
  
• Work in settings that communicate staff value and expectations of high performance.
  

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