Wasting time in Salem
Our elected representatives in Salem are only a few weeks away from finishing their work and going back home, where they can finally go back to campaigning for the 2006 elections, surely posturing one more as the defenders of public education, just like they did in 2004. Most of the commissions have shut down, and very little of substance has any chance to be approved at this point.Both the OSBA and COSA have very good pages on their web sites where they have tracked the over 300 education related bills from this year.
So what is my opinion of the accomplishment of the 2005 legislature on education?
I am extremely disappointed. The bitter discussion over the budget rerailed any discussion on other substantial bills on education. And in the end nobody will be happy with the result of the budget negotiations. Those on the left will not appreciate a budget that will force Portland schools to do some more cuts. And those on the right will be mad about all the money going to those special interests like childrens and parents, crying foul aainst those who sold us out to the evil teacher's unions.
There are many districts that will have to do more cuts to their schools. but the big loser is the Portland School District. Why does a district that was able to pass a school levy AND a special income tax have funding problems is beyond me. Hillsboro, on the other hand is in pretty good shape. But the problem is that all the organizations that advocate for schools (including Stand and Oregon PTA) are very Portland-heavy, and the priorities of the rest of the state didn't get quite as much attention.
What really bothers me is that none of the structural issues with school funding got fixed. The state still has a revenue issue. Measure 5 and measure 50 are still killing us, businesses (mine included) are still not paying their fair share. Health care costs and PERS are still out of control, increasing in double digit every year, and taking money away from the classrooms. And the idea of letting growing districts like Hillsboro fund the building of new schools with system development charges did not get very far.
I think it is time to stop looking at Salem for solutions. It is time to come up with a reasonable plan for quality schools, and put it on the November 2006 ballot.
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posted by Unknown @ 7:00 PM
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