Education-supporting revenue package visible on horizon

It may not be the beginning of the end, but it is definitely shaping up to be the end of the beginning for this Legislature's work on new revenue for schools.

The Joint Ways and Means Committee wrapped up its roadshow in Portland on Thursday, March 21, the same week we hosted our last Lobby Day in the Capitol. The timing was good because it looks like legislation may be advancing soon.

The Joint Committee on Student Success Revenue Subcommittee co-chairs have urged the state's largest business association, Oregon Business & Industry, to declare whether it will support a major increase in revenue. Although the response from the group was tepid, Sen. Mark Hass, D-Beaverton, did lay out for The Oregonian his intended timeline for advancing a revenue package:

“It’s going to go fast after this week,” Hass said, adding that he would like to get a bill out of the Joint Committee on Student Success Subcommittee on Revenue — or “at least on the committee’s doorstep” — by the first week of April.

With the pace of the conversation picking up, it will be more critical than ever for us to stay engaged and nimble to ensure we pass a school funding package this year.

Look for outreach from our Oregonians for Student Success campaign in the coming days to help us identify how to best plug you into our work in the coming weeks to push this over the finish line. Together we can get this done in 2019!

- OSBA