Republican gubernatorial candidate Rep. Knute Buehler on Friday called for Gov. Kate Brown to fire her state schools chief Colt Gill, after recent news that Oregon's test scores remain mediocre.

Buehler, a surgeon and lawmaker from Bend, said the test scores released last week showed "essentially no progress" over the last four years. His Democratic opponent has been in office 3½ years.

In an interview with The Oregonian/OregonLive last week, Gill did not point to any bright spots in the latest national Smarter Balanced test results. Meanwhile, Washington state's reading and writing test scores went up in every grade this year.

Oregon schools generate mediocre results, new test scores indicate

"Gov. Brown responded not like a leader, saying she has no control over these issues even though she is truly the superintendent of public instruction in the state of Oregon," Buehler said at a news conference. Brown recently told The Oregonian/OregonLive that if re-elected, she would not attempt to tie K-12 funding to mandates or outcomes, a strategy Buehler has proposed.

Gill has held his job for a year and previously served as Brown's "education innovation officer." Brown forced her previous state schools chief, Salam Noor, out of his job last year.

Colt Gill is Oregon's state schools chief.

Buehler did mix up Gill's title on Friday, referring to him as Brown's "chief education officer." That title actually belongs to Lindsey Capps, who advises Brown on education and coordinates state policies on all education from preschool through College. His previous jobs include lobbying for Oregon's teachers union.

Christian Gaston, a spokesman for Brown's campaign, didn't respond to a question about whether Brown continues to support Gill.

Instead, Gaston wrote in an email that Buehler was "just playing politics" and would "cut teacher pay and cap investments in our schools, leaving local districts to figure out how to pay for shortfalls."

-- Hillary Borrud

503-294-4034; @hborrud