Oregon educator Betsy Close served as a state legislator

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Many educators have committed themselves to work in politics. One is Betsy Close, a public school teacher who has served in both the Oregon State House of Representatives and the Oregon State Senate. Photo Credit: Ballotpedia

Many classroom teachers have also committed themselves to work in politics. This is true of Betsy Close, a public school teacher who has served in both the Oregon State House of Representatives and the Oregon State Senate.

Betsy was born on May 4, 1950. Her mother was a physical education teacher and coach, and her father was a teacher, coach, principal, and assistant superintendent.

As a young woman, Betsy earned Bachelor’s degrees from both Washington State University in 1972 and Central Washington University in 1974. She earned her Master’s degree from Oregon State University in 1978. Once she earned her degrees, Betsy taught in public schools in Washington state and in Albany, Oregon.

In 1999, Betsy was elected on the Republican ticket to the Oregon State House of Representatives. She served there until 2004. In 2012, she served in the Oregon State Senate, representing District 8. She served there until 2015. During her time as a legislator, Betsy served on a number of committees. One of the them was the Committee for Education. To address the need for increased quality and accessibility in Oregon, Betsy championed more classroom teachers, lower class sizes, a longer school year, and adding back instructional minutes after years of cut-backs. In the Senate, Betsy also served on two other committees: Public Safety and Jobs and Economy.

In addition to her work as an educator and a legislator, Betsy volunteered as a counselor for the Corvallis Pregnancy Care Center and Habitat for Humanity House. She also served on the Board of Directors for the Palestine Rural Fire Board.

For her work as a public servant, Betsy has earned many accolades. She was inducted into the Farm Bureau Hall of Honor in 2003. In addition, she garnered State Official of the Year in 2003 by the National Association of Homebuilders; Friend of the Taxpayer Award by Citizens For A Sound Economy in 2002; the Legislator Recognition Award for Outstanding Service to Oregon’s Special Districts in 2001; and the President’s Award from the Oregon Concrete and Aggregate Association in 2001.