WHEREAS, the
passage of Measure 5 in 1990 shifted the burden of
elementary/secondary school funding to the state and is pitting
the needs of public schools against the funding requirements of
human services, public safety, natural resources and other vital
state government programs and services; and
WHEREAS, except
during times of extraordinary economic expansion, Oregon’s
unbalanced tax structure - ranked number one nationally in
terms of its reliance on a single source of revenue - is
incapable of generating the revenue necessary to adequately fund
public education along with other legitimate state government
programs and services; and
WHEREAS, even
during a decade of unprecedented state economic growth and
despite the efforts of the legislature to make public school
funding a priority, K-12 school resources over the last decade
on a per-student basis have not kept pace with inflation; and
WHEREAS,
according to the Quality Education Model, current K-12 school
funding falls $862 million short of providing the operating
resources necessary to assure all students the opportunity to
achieve the level of academic achievement set for them by Oregon’s
Educational Act for the 21st Century; and
WHEREAS, the
current economic downturn’s negative impact on state general
fund revenue, and the prospects it creates for funding
reductions not only in public education but in other equally
important areas of the state budget, highlights the need for
state-level leadership to address the imbalance in Oregon’s
tax structure in a way that will assure long-term adequate,
stable and equitable school funding.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE
IT RESOLVED that the Oregon School Boards Association, as
the organization representing elected public school leaders,
must lead the effort to develop and implement a strategy to
secure adequate, stable and equitable long-term public school
funding; and
BE IT FURTHER
RESOLVED, that the Oregon School Boards Association, in
concert with its chief coalition partners, the Confederation of
Oregon School Administrators and the Oregon Education
Association, expeditiously develop and implement the strategies
necessary to achieve long-term adequate, stable and equitable
public school funding.
Submitted by: OSBA
Executive Committee
Resolutions Committee recommendation: Do Pass
Membership Action: Unanimously adopted at Nov. 17, 2001, Annual
Meeting
