Becky Waldrop, July 13, 2001
A mother of four young children is the newest member of the Corvallis School Board. Sara Gelser was appointed to serve the rest of a two-year term in the seat vacated by Jay Dixon in April. She was sworn in at the July board meeting to Position 3 earlier this week.
As an advocate for children, Gelser has experience serving on more than a half dozen boards and committees, most of them related to special education and assisting people with developmental disabilities. Gelser also regularly attended the recent school closure and consolidation committee meetings, often offering input to the committee and board.
But that's not why she wanted to be involved with governing the district. "I'm very interested in where the district is going. The closure and consolidation decision is going to impact the district," Gelser said. "Joining is definitely not a reaction to the school closure, but I am concerned about the divisiveness it has caused."
Gelser has a son, Sam, 6, who attends Jefferson Elementary and the Essential Life Skills program at Garfield; and three daughters, Maia, 3 months; Nicole, 11 months; and Ellie, 3 years old.
Sam was born with a genetic disorder that inhibits normal muscle growth. Gelser worked closely with Benton County Early Intervention and other education groups to learn how to help her son and others reach their potential.
That has put her in close contact with the state-funded education services districts -- or ESDs -- that provide services to many school districts in geographic region as well as administer programs such as Early Intervention.
Gelser said she's already done some snooping into the Linn-Benton-Lincoln ESD budget. During her interview for the position with the School Board, Gelser said she had concerns about duplication of services and thought the district needed to investigate whether the ESD charged the district for things it didn't provide.
"It's great to have ESDs for rural districts," said Gelser. "But it doesn't seem that there's the same level of accountability with the ESDs. Districts and schools are cutting and trimming, and the ESD just remodeled its building. That's not serving kids in our community."
Gelser attended Earlham College in Richmond, Ind., where she received a degree in history with a minor in education. She taught in Richmond before she and her husband, Peter, moved to Corvallis in 1994. After her son was born, Gelser attended Oregon State university, where she received a master's in interdisciplinary studies in 1998.
She worked as youth minister for Grace Lutheran Church in Corvallis and has been active with many groups with issues related to education.
She was appointed to the State Interagency Coordinating Council for Early Intervention and Early Childhood Special Education in 1997. She served on that committee until this spring. From 1998 to 2000, Gelser was chair of Benton County's Interagency Coordinating Council.
Last year, Sen. Gary George, R-Newberg, appointed her to serve as chair of his Senate work group on special education. Gelser wrote the "George Report" and presented it to he Senate Education Committee and State Schools Superintendent Stan Bunn this year.
Gelser also worked for the Oregon COPE project, a parent training and information center, where she gave information and referral services to parents, educators and school administrators in Linn, Benton, Lincoln and Lane counties about special education law.
She also presented workshops to many groups about the changes to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. Gelser is the newly elected president of The Arc of Benton County, has served as vice president and was on The Arc board of directors for two years.
Gelser said her work in the area of special education isn't just for the benefit of people with disabilities.
"When I think about advocating for special needs, I'm talking about advocating for others. Anything that's good for them is probably good for all kids," she said.
In her free time, Gelser said she likes to read and take outings with her kids and her friends. She also enjoys playing games at home with her family.