News and Events

April 2026

News Release : SVCS Owner of School Building for Whitmore

March 2026

A press release regarding Curriculum was published today - March 13th, 2026 - by the SVCS Board of Directors.

Curriculum_Press_Release 03-13-26

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January 2026

Whitmore Classical Academy lottery application period opens Jan 2 through March 6 at noon.
A reminder that we will open in September 2026 with grades K-3 and we plan to expand a grade each year through 8th grade.
We are in the process of interviewing for an Instructional Principal and putting the final details together for teacher packages to begin seeking out teachers in earnest.
Cupid Run Fun Run scheduled for Saturday, February 14 with pancake breakfast after. (more information to come)

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November 2025

1. Charter School interview and discussion on Coast Radio "Our Town" (click then scroll to second item)

2. Siuslaw News survey results

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September 2025

Setting the Record Straight

Whitmore Classical Academy would like to wish everyone a great 2025/2026 school year. We look forward to partnering with our community in the Fall of 2026 when we open our doors with an additional education option for Florence families. We also look forward to engaging with homeschool families as well as students and families in our other local schools as we offer enrichment activities and experiences we hope will benefit everyone.

We recognize there have been questions raised on social media about cuts and proposed cuts in the local school district. Some have pointed to Whitmore Classical Academy being a source of the cuts which is inaccurate. Here is some information to make note of:

1. For 2025, Oregon is 15th out of all the states in the country in per student funding https://worldpopulationreview.com/.../per-pupil-spending...

2. Public school district funding from the state of Oregon increases every biennium. Oregon's 2025 education budget features a record-setting $11.4 billion for the State School Fund for the 2025-27 biennium, a 11% increase from the previous budget cycle. For the 2023-25 biennium, the Oregon Legislature approved a State School Fund budget of $10.2 billion, an increase of $700 million from the previous biennium.

3. Regardless of this increase from last biennium, public school district cuts are happening all over Oregon. When we asked Superintendent Andy Grzeskowiak why there are cuts in the Siuslaw School District he stated the following: “Over the past 5 years there has been a slight decline in student enrollment, roughly 50 students on average over the last 5 years. The decline has been from 1240 students to roughly 1190 students now.

State funding has not kept up with either the cost of inflation or associated payroll costs.”

4. Oregon Public Broadcasting also published an article in May 2025 that described what is happening to cause districts to make budget cuts. https://www.opb.org/.../oregon-school-districts-grapple.../ Of note:

a. The header reads: “Declining birth rates and rising inflation, along with state and federal funding uncertainties, remain ongoing barriers as Oregon school districts balance their budgets for next year”

b. “Families in the United States are getting smaller. As birth rates decline, so, too, does school enrollment. That’s a major budget consideration for Oregon school districts.”

c. “…increased costs for schools to the Public Employee Retirement System, or PERS, in the next two years are expected to more than wipe out the governor’s proposed increases in school funding.”

5. Whitmore Classical Academy, a public, tuition free charter school available to all students, will be opening its doors Fall of 2026-next school year. State funding will not be allocated to WCA until July 2026. No public funds have gone to the Charter School to date.

6. The per student funding for all Siuslaw School District students, including Whitmore Classical Academy students, will go to the district. The Siuslaw School District receives other state and federal funds in addition to these per student funds. Whitmore Classical Academy will receive 80% of the per student funding dollars for each of the students that they have enrolled and are serving. 20% of the per student funding for Whitmore Classical Academy students remains with the Siuslaw School District even though they are not educating those students. NONE of the other funding received by the Siuslaw School District from the state and federal government is received by Whitmore Classical Academy.

7. The assertion has been made that Whitmore Classical Academy is “taking funds from the district.” Whitmore Classical Academy will receive 80% of the per student funding that is received by the district to educate those specific students 100%. Siuslaw School Districts keeps the remaining 20% of the per student funding, and the remaining pots of state and federal funds, and will not be educating the Whitmore Classical Academy students.

8. Some Whitmore Classical Academy students will come from the Siuslaw School District classrooms. However, Whitmore Classical Academy will also draw students from surrounding communities and homeschool families-all of whom have not been on the Siuslaw School District rolls before and this is expected to bring new money to the district from those students.

9. The rest of Whitmore Classical Academy’s funding will come from grants, donations and fundraising.

10. Whitmore Classical Academy is in escrow for the former Rite-Aid building. It has been vacant for two years. They selected this building after an exhaustive search for both leasing and purchasing options. This was the economical option. All of the funds for the down payment for the purchase and the build-out are coming from private donations.

11. The former Rite-Aid building is zoned for a school.

12. We have seen statements on social media that we have been unwilling to discuss these things in a public setting, yet nobody has approached us. All of the charter school board meetings are public meetings.

13. All parents are taxpayers, including those that choose the traditional school, charter school, homeschool, or private school to meet their children’s educational needs. As taxpayers, their choices matter.

14. There are 136 public charter schools in Oregon.

We look forward to a positive partnership with our local schools, families and the greater Florence community and we are always available to answer questions that you have.

If you have questions or would like to meet individually or as a group with representatives from Whitmore Classical Academy, please email your request at [email protected].

July 2025

Siuslaw Valley Charter School Announces EAT Advisory Team

Siuslaw Valley Charter School Announces EAT Advisory Team

June 2025

SIUSLAW VALLEY CHARTER SCHOOL HIRES NEW COO

May 2025

March 2025

SIUSLAW VALLEY CHARTER SCHOOL DELAYS OPENING

January 2025

September 2024

On September 12th, the Siuslaw School Board voted 6-1 to support the contract created between Siuslaw District and Whitmore Academy Charter School. Below is the press release and our cartoon for the month.

August 2024

Great progress this summer. The business office location has been secured and will open in September. Interviews with CEO/Principal candidates are concluding, the contract with the Siuslaw School District was completed, approval has been initially read into record at the August school board meeting and is due to be voted on in the September meeting.

Our cartoon for the month is reminding you to . . .

March 2024

The search for the executive officer commenced March 12th. This position is often called "CEO/Principal". The CEO/Principal will be responsible for developing all programs and systems associated with the opening of Whitmore Classical Academy and would assume the position Aug 2024.

The CEO/Principal is an active teacher and administrator of the school.

February 2024

Considerable time has been spent in starting our negotiations with Siuslaw School District due to miscommunication and misinformation. A face-to-face meeting on Feb 7th led to clearing up much of the misinformation.

Here are links to a discussion of the charter school model plus documents from our legislators and attorneys clarifying the non-issue.

1. Boomer Wright , Our District 9 Oregon State Representative and former school superintendent

2. Kevin Mannix , Oregon State Representative and Co-author of the congressional bill that defines Public Charter Schools for Oregon

On February 14th, the Siuslaw School Board voted 5 to 2 to move forward with the contract negotiations for our charter school. To further streamline the discussion process, we have made the decision to move forward using a classical education curriculum.

December '23 - January 2024 News

Two new members have been added to our Founding Board.

We are excited to announce Kay King, in the role of Vice Chairman and Jodi O'Mara, retired Elementary School Principal and Superintendent at Mapleton are new members of our team.

October - November 2023 News

We are excited to report that our application was accepted with a 5 to 1 vote by the Siuslaw School Board and negotiations are moving forward to enter into a contract with the district. School opening is planned for September of 2025. In the meantime, the search will begin for Head of School and the location/ building for the school. Whitmore Classical Academy will be open to all students at no charge.