UPDATE: On Wednesday, schools chief says results will be released today.

The Oregon Department of Education, whose leader is hand-picked by Gov. Kate Brown, has decided to delay releasing its annual school performance ratings from Thursday, as had been scheduled, to after the high-stakes Nov. 6 election.

The statistical rankings are ready and have been in school districts' hands since Oct. 4. Superintendents were provided data about their schools' ratings and directed they could "prepare press releases" about their district's showing in advance of the scheduled Oct. 25 release of the ratings to the public.

But the department quietly informed school district officials last week that it would delay the release for three weeks. Department officials told them nothing about the reason for the delay.

The move comes as Brown is locked in a close race with Republican challenger Knute Beuher. Buehler has said over and over that Brown's failure to improve public school outcomes is his No. 1 issue in the campaign.

On Monday, department spokesman Marc Siegel told The Oregonian/OregonLive that the agency moved back the release so it could launch, as it did Tuesday, a long-awaited website with messages and tools to fight chronic absenteeism.

On Tuesday, he added another reason, saying a complication that arises each year -- some schools get low ratings not because they have low test scores or high dropout rates, but because too few of their students took state tests -- required more time to handle.

Oregon schools chief Colt Gill, selected by Brown last year to oversee the state's public schools, made the decision to delay giving parents and the public information about school performance.

Siegel and a spokeswoman for Brown both said Gill informed Brown of the decision but it was his call.

"I am not comfortable releasing these profiles until I know that I have a complete package of supports ready for both parents and for educators and districts ... so that they can make informed decisions about their work going forward," Gill told The Oregonian/OregonLive.

The school ratings are bound to look particularly bad this year due to a provision in federal education law added at the behest of Sen. Ron Wyden. The Oregon Democrat, expressing dismay about the terrible high school graduation rates in his state, got fellow members of Congress to agree that schools that don't manage to graduate at least two-thirds of their students in four years should be called onto the carpet for poor performance and have the opportunity to receive federal improvement funds.

Oregon, which has the third-worst statewide graduation rate in the nation, has a lot of schools that don't clear the two-thirds graduation bar.

That news would have been in the headlines this week, while most voters still have ballots in front of them.

A representative from Brown's campaign did not respond immediately Tuesday to questions about whether she played a role in the delay.

But Kate Kondayen, a spokeswoman for the governor, said Brown has concerns related to the fact that schools can get low ratings only for failing to test enough students. The education department, Kondayen said, "has assured our office that they are taking the time to get this right for students, school districts, and families." It's a concern, however, that neither Brown nor the education department saw as a cause for delay in years past.

News of Oregon's terrible graduation rate is not a secret. Nor is the fact chronic absenteeism and college-going rates have stagnated or worsened since Brown became governor. This year's test results were mediocre, which Buehler was quick to telegraph.

John Horvick, vice president and political director of nonpartisan opinion research firm DHM Research, said education is the No. 1 issue for Oregon voters trying to make a decision in the governor's race. But he said negative headlines about Oregon schools' performance this week would have made little difference in voter perceptions.

"Oregonians don't think highly of the state's school system," he said. "It's unlikely one more negative report would make them feel even less positive than they do now."

The delay raises two questions for him, Horvick said.

It raises the possibility "the report is more negative than I am assuming," he said. And,"The question becomes, is (the delay) capitalized on by Knute Buehler or by others to demonstrate that (Brown) is hiding something, that she isn't being honest and trustworthy, that she is playing games with the results?"

Buehler did just that.

"Brown is putting her re-election campaign ahead of the needs of our parents, teachers and children," he said. "This information is important for parents and to ensure accountability in our schools. The only one who is afraid of this information is Governor Brown. Brown promised a transparent government and to fix our failing schools. Disappointingly, she has failed to deliver either."

Brown picked Gill in spring 2016 to be the state's first "education innovation officer" and to take the lead on raising graduation rates and lessening chronic absenteeism. Then in fall 2017, when she forced out former state schools chief Salam Noor, who had been her pick in 2015, Brown moved Gill into the position leading the Oregon Department of Education. She then eliminated the role of education innovation officer.

Chronic absenteeism rates have not improved in Oregon. The state was scheduled to release the latest figures last week but it failed to do so, citing a "schedule change." The absenteeism data was then rescheduled to be released Nov. 1, ahead of the election, but it's now unclear whether that will occur.

Siegel asked a reporter Monday for evidence his agency had said it would release that information on Oct. 18. She provided it.

The Oregonian/OregonLive filed a public records request Monday evening for all the school performance data the department provided to school districts. Siegel said Tuesday he had received it and would "look into it."

-- Betsy Hammond