Historic education moment calls for school board members’ support
The time is now!
A historic step for education funding is expected Monday, April 29, when House Bill 3427 is again scheduled for a work session.
A vote was planned for April 25, but a flurry of amendments related to the bill’s revenue-raising portion came in at the last minute. The Joint Committee on Student Success has scheduled a work session Monday evening, as the co-chairs push to move the bill out of committee before the end of the month.
Business representatives have said they would be willing to support a tax for education, but the discussion and questions continue about the “right” type of tax. Questions during the last hearing focused on inputs that could be deducted, reducing total business receipts. The conversations are important to persuading some members of the business community to pull back from a ballot measure fight.
I hope you have signed up for the Oregonians for Student Success campaign and have been getting updates about revenue reform efforts. You should be seeing action alerts. We need your phone calls and emails to your legislators asking for them to vote YES on HB 3427.
If you need any assistance in calling or emailing your legislator, please contact me at lsattenspiel@osba.org.
Other interesting events in the Capitol are worth a quick note.
The House was involved in a heated debate when the fire alarm sounded just as House Speaker Tina Kotek was moving to the vote. All members, lobbyists and visitors had to exit the Capitol, delaying the vote. It threw a rare bit of chaos into typically rule-bound procedures.
Coincidentally, the anti-vaccination groups’ protest was the same day. The rally on the Capitol steps jammed up the entrance with a sea of strollers and families rallying for the right to determine their children’s health care needs.
The vaccination bill, HB 3063, has generated passionate positions on both sides. I know school boards have been asked to take positions or adopt a resolution on this important subject. I have cautioned school board members that they should schedule significant time for public input before taking any action.
I cannot believe it is nearly May already, and the legislative session is more than halfway to its required June 30 close. We still have lots of legislative issues to resolve, so stay tuned and please contact me if you have questions.
- Lori Sattenspiel
Legislative Services director