- Superintendent of Public Instruction, 1975-1989.
- Oregon State Senator, 1997-2003.
About Superintendent Duncan
Verne Duncan has “always [been] interested in what was going on.” With a family involved in state politics he had exposure to “what was going on” at an early age. Education was always important to the Duncan family. With his early work as a teacher and school superintendent, Duncan’s decision to run for the office of Oregon State Superintendent of Public Instruction was a natural fit.
Duncan served in that capacity from 1975-1989 and oversaw major changes in school funding and focus during his tenure. A major goal for Duncan was moving Oregon to adopt an education model suited for the 20th century rather than the 19th century. An ongoing budget crisis throughout the state tempered this forward-looking approach and hit education funding particularly hard.
Duncan’s time in office also covered some unique situations in education in Oregon’s history. The most prominent of which was the clash between the religious cult of the Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh and their running of public schools in Antelope, Oregon. Another case during that same time period also involved religious freedom. That of a Sikh teacher to be allowed to wear her religious clothing while teaching at a public school in Eugene.
In 1997, Verne Duncan was appointed to fill a vacant Oregon Senate seat. He was later elected to the seat and served through 2003.
– Interview recorded February 4, 2016