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Lawmakers Must Protect & Invest in Neighborhood Public Schools
The final economic forecast of the legislative session painted a clear picture for lawmakers about the pressing needs of Oregon’s neighborhood public schools. The good news was that it appears Oregon is likely to miss a recession in the near future. However, economic growth is slowing significantly. With multiple revenue streams that fund education – like the corporate activities tax, property taxes, and personal income taxes - performing weaker than anticipated. This, coupled with continued threats from the federal government, means that Oregonians are facing more and more uncertainty.
The legislature must act – pushing back against uncertainty and recommitting to investing in our students and in the communities served by our neighborhood public schools. We must ensure that lagging economic growth does not result in deep cuts for our students, and that means keeping the State School Fund whole at $11.417B.
Additionally, while there may be less flexibility in the budget than we hoped for in March, lawmakers still have the opportunity to make critical new investments to support our students receiving special education services in our K-12 public schools. We should follow the lead of our neighbors in Washington and take action to support our most vulnerable students. This is possible if lawmakers forego appropriations to the state’s rainy day fund.
Oregon must also increase funding for the Community College Support Fund, providing students with stable tuition rates and ensuring our state’s community colleges are able to break the longstanding practice of paying part-time faculty substandard wages for doing the same work as their full-time colleagues.
Lastly, lawmakers must dip into the Student Success Act reserve funds to ensure that the SIA remains whole and that our neighborhood public schools are able to continue providing students with mental health supports and other critical resources they need to thrive.
At a time when education is under attack at the federal level and the needs of billionaires are being prioritized over people, we are asking that Oregon legislators invest in our communities to the greatest extent possible and help build Oregon up.