IMESD superintendents to discuss Kotek’s order on classroom time

By Terry Murry on Friday, April 17th, 2026 in Columbia Basin News More Top Stories

SALEM – Gov. Tina Kotek issued an executive order that she says will protect and restore student instructional time in Oregon schools. Her statement said that some school districts are either considering or have implemented reduced instructional time due to budget constraints.

InterMountain Education Service District (IMESD) Superintendent Mark Mulvihill said a meeting of superintendents will be held today (Friday) to clarify the order.

“The regional superintendents are evaluating the Governor’s Executive Order released today (Thursday),” he said. “Since we have varied calendars and schedules approved by our boards last year, we need to determine if there are impacts to our current operating procedures. The superintendents around the state are meeting to seek clarity in order to provide an appropriate response to our constituents.”

IMESD serves schools in Morrow, Umatilla, Union, and part of Baker County.

No clarification is needed for the Hermiston School District, which is not a part of the IMESD system.

“The Hermiston School District instructional calendar meets the instructional hour requirements without factoring professional development or parent-teacher conferences into the instructional hours calculation,” Superintendent Tricia Mooney said.

The order bars the Oregon Department of Education from issuing waivers of instructional time requirements. These had been routinely approved over the years due to financial issues, teachers’ strikes, and bad weather. Kotek is calling for districts that already have the approved reductions to restore the lost time by the start of the 2027-28 school year.