Now is the time for school board members to get in the action

The time to act is now.

The Oregon House passed last week Senate Bill 5514, the State School Fund appropriations bill, with a funding level of $9.3 billion. That is $300 million short of what it will cost most schools to maintain operations at the same levels as the last budget. At the same time, the state’s latest revenue forecast calculated there is an additional $1.1 billion in revenue available to support services.

The next two years will be crucial for providing our children with the health and academic support they need to recover from this pandemic. We need school board members to join other education advocates in reaching out to help ensure that legislators use this opportunity to fully fund our students.

We need your help. Use this link to respond to our call to action and become an advocate for our students today!

Oregon made a commitment two years ago through the Student Success Act. After years of insufficient funding for our schools and students, the state said ensuring the success of every student would be a top priority. But current proposals for the State School Fund will force districts to cut staff or shorten instructional time. This is inexcusable, particularly when our state is predicting record revenues.

For weeks I’ve been writing updates, saying that the time will come for strong advocacy by school board members to legislators. The time is now! Tell Oregon legislators that our students cannot afford to lose any more instructional time or critical services.

OSBA Legislative Services stands ready to help you reach out to your legislators to let them know their budget decisions’ local effects.

Thank you.

- Lori Sattenspiel
Legislative Services director