Kelly Sloop

The West Linn-Wilsonville School District has changed a lot since Kelly Sloop took office in 2021, but some things have stayed the same.

“I am running for reelection because I am very invested in the school district as well as the community, and it has grown over the last four years,” said Sloop, who is unopposed in the race for position 5. “I grew up in West Linn, so the district has many fond memories for me.”

Following a challenging long range planning cycle, which weighed the possibility of closing three West Linn primary schools, Sloop said there’s plenty that the school board could’ve done better.

“I think it was set to fail from the very beginning,” said Sloop. “We are one district, West Linn and Wilsonville, and we should have included Wilsonville schools on the task force.”

She also believes that closing a school should be a final option, not a first step.

“There needs to be a more realistic timeline than a three-month window and as a board we were not really engaged in any of the process until toward the end,” said Sloop. “I really wish that the Jan. 13 report, where we got the ‘big binder,’ would have been something that everybody should have had access to in the very beginning.”

Sloop said that she found the entire process difficult because of the strong emotions and her natural inclination to want to see all of the information and process it slowly.

“I’m very methodical, a processor, and I do a lot of research,” she said. “I feel that through all of this, I have gained a voice that has now earned the respect of my fellow board members, because I do ask questions and I do research.”

Sloop’s background in health care as a registered pharmacist meant that when she first took the role, she focused on health related policies, from mental health to physical health.

“I spearheaded getting the Narcan policy into our school district, and not only that, but as a registered pharmacist, I was able to procure Narcan for every single school,” said Sloop. “That was probably one of the first things that I can say I worked with the admin to create that policy.”

She’s also proud of the district’s adoption of new literacy standards last school year and the upcoming adoption of a new math curriculum.

“I think we need to focus on math and literacy because those scores are lower. It’s higher than the state, but the state is the lowest in the nation,” said Sloop. “I believe getting the teachers involved in collaborating on the real-time assessment data will help improve our academic gap and show more growth.”

In Salem, Sloop is advocating to raise the special education funding cap from 11% to 14% and for the state to fully fund the education services for students with high-cost disabilities. Currently, the district is only reimbursed 40% for services such as full-time nurses or outpatient services.

Tied to the need for further special education funding is the district’s full inclusion model, which draws families to West Linn and Wilsonville.

“I love that we do that because it gives the student with physical disabilities or learning disabilities (a sense of) collaboration … They’re hanging out with their peers. They’re in the same classroom with their peers, but it also develops acceptance and empathy,” said Sloop. “Families move here because of the inclusion model and the support, but I think we can do better in the support because I know we don’t have the paraeducators or aides that these students should have.”

Recognizing the need for this support is part of why she continues to push parents more and more to get involved in advocacy work in Salem.

“I feel like I can’t walk away from it now,” she said. “There’s more work to be done and we can do better as a board for our district.”