Oregon Public Broadcasting

Oregon’s first Latina to win statewide elected office will run to keep her seat. State schools’ superintendent, Susan Castillo, announced Tuesday that she will run for a third term. Rob Manning reports.

Castillo won election four years ago by nearly 150,000 votes. That’s actually a closer race than she had the first time – when she won by more than 180,000.

The Eugene-area Democrat says she’s eager to get her campaign started for another four years.

Susan Castillo: “I’m as committed as I’ve ever been – just as committed as I was eight years ago, when I first ran for this office.”

The superintendent of public instruction doesn’t write the state budget for schools. Legislators do that. But as superintendent, Castillo created a pot of private money to reward schools where achievement gaps between white and minority students have narrowed.

However, the superintendent spends most of her time supervising state and federal policy as the head of the state education department, and crafting policy with the state board of ed.

Castillo will likely run on her policy changes, like the new high school diploma.

Susan Castillo: “For the first time in our state, we’re now saying that kids have to demonstrate that they can read, and do math, and write, in order to graduate and get their diploma. We’ve never done that before. We have raised our expectations for what we want for every single child in our schools.”

The state board of education recently delayed some of the new requirements, because of budget constraints. 

The election for superintendent of public instruction is a non-partisan race.

No other candidates have come forward yet, but the state Republican party says someone will challenge Castillo.

Republicans have differed with Castillo on charter schools, on-line education, and other issues.

The  state’s largest teachers’ union plans to vote on an endorsement in the spring, but in the past the union has supported Castillo.