Fewer Kids, Closed Schools: What Housing Costs Are Doing to Corvallis | HV20

In this episode of Housing Voices, hosts Bre Irish and Marty Fulford sit down with Dr. Ryan Noss, Superintendent of the Corvallis School District and a former Superintendent of the Year, to explore the direct and often overlooked connection between housing affordability and the health of public schools. Dr. Noss shares what school consolidation, declining enrollment, and workforce housing pressures look like from the inside, and what it will take to reverse course. - Why Corvallis schools have been forced to consolidate, and what that process cost the community emotionally and financially - How the housing crisis is driving teacher and classified staff shortages across the district - The two primary factors behind declining student enrollment: housing costs and falling birth rates - What 200 to 300 housing-insecure students in a single school year looks like, and how the district responds - How funding tied to enrollment creates a compounding cycle of cuts, reduced programming, and further decline - Why 30,000 people commute into Corvallis daily, and what that means for the local economy and environment - The role of community resistance to growth in deepening the housing shortage - What the district wishes more residents understood about the ripple effects of housing instability on schools, kids, and the entire community Resources and People Mentioned: - Dr. Ryan Noss, Superintendent, Corvallis School District - Eric McGuire, previous Housing Voices guest (HV10) - Corvallis Public Schools Foundation - Oregon State University - Boys & Girls Club - HP (Hewlett-Packard), referenced in the context of Corvallis's growth history - McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act - 1000 Friends of Oregon - Oregon Student Success Act (Measure 98) - Measures 5 and 50 (Oregon property tax limitations) - Letitia Carson Early Childhood Center - Osborn Aquatic Center - Travel Oregon grant - MartyFulford.com and Cynit.net (episode partners) - Music by Karen DeWolfe and Adrian Kriz