Local advocates need to push legislators to support education investment plan

The Joint Committee on Student Success shared initial outlines last week for an increased investment in preK-12, as well as the revenue package to finance it.

The proposal would restore state school funding next biennium to the levels proposed in Gov. Kate Brown's budget, as well as make significant new investments in education. Specifically, 50% of the remaining funds would go to noncompetitive school improvement grants to districts, 20% to support early education, and 30% to statewide initiatives.

The tax proposal to fund the package will involve a corporate receipts tax, coupled with some reductions in the personal income tax and exemptions to some industries from the new tax. The Portland Tribune provides a good initial look at the concept if you want to dive in deeper.

Now is the time to engage with your local legislators and ensure we achieve increased school funding in this legislative session. Our team is counting votes and prioritizing where we can have the biggest impact.

If you didn't last week, please take a few minutes to complete this survey about how you can help us get the job done. We will be following up with survey takers in the next few weeks, and this information is invaluable to calibrating our strategy.

- OSBA