This week offers an unusually high-stakes Legislative Days for education advocates.
Legislative committees periodically meet between sessions during what is known as Legislative Days to conduct important functions but mostly to hear reports.
The House Interim Education Committee will have an informational meeting Monday on outdoor school, the cell phone ban and accountability legislation implementation, among other things. The Senate Interim Education Committee will have an informational meeting Tuesday on artificial intelligence in education as well as hear about the state’s attainment goals and playful learning.
Important topics, but education advocates’ eyes will mostly be focused on three other meetings that have significant implications for education funding.
Earlier this month, the Salem-Keizer School District announced a $25 million reduction to its budget next year. The school board said Oregon’s shaky revenue future combined with the district’s rising salary and benefit costs forced it to act now. Salem-Keizer’s announcement included an explainer of the statewide context as other districts are finding themselves in similar financial straits.
Portland Public Schools has announced an expected $50 million budget shortfall for 2026-27, and the Corvallis School District is considering school closures in the face of a $4 million deficit. Despite a significant increase in the State School Fund this biennium, many districts are playing catch up with soaring inflation, pent-up wage demands and a return to spiking Public Employees Retirement System costs.
Districts around the state are talking about tightening their belts already, and three hearings this week could give an idea of how many new notches they need.
Joint Ways and Means Education Subcommittee, 8 a.m. Tuesday: This is the Legislature’s first look at options for cutting education spending, possibly even this fiscal year.
The federal House Resolution 1, known as the “One Big Beautiful Bill,” will decrease federal funds coming to Oregon by around $15 billion over the next five years. It also will immediately lower Oregon’s tax collection revenue by an estimated $888 million. This is the biggest driver of the expected $915 million budget shortfall identified by the Ways and Means co-chairs.
Oregon state agencies have been asked to create a list of possible cuts ranging from 2.5% to 5% of their budgets. The Oregon Department of Education says in its possible budget reductions report that it aimed to protect core instructional programs and student facing services.
The report has a list of grant in aid programs that will be held harmless in addition to the key reduction areas. In most cases, ODE envisions reducing funding in the current school year to provide a modicum of transition time before eliminating the program in the 2026-27 school year. In other spots, ODE would cut state spending for mandated programs that would then need to be supported out of district budgets.
Education advocates have emphasized that no cuts have been determined. This hearing is just a first step to look at possibilities.
Joint Public Education Appropriation Committee, 8:30 a.m. Wednesday: In a landmark moment, the committee will receive a report that says for the first time since the Quality Education Model was created in 1999, the Legislature has met its public education funding goals.
By law, a group of volunteers called the Quality Education Commission creates the Quality Education Model every two years before the Legislature sets the public education budget. The model is intended to provide a road map and a price tag for Oregon to offer a high-quality public education for all students.
After the Legislature sets the budget, it must write a report on whether it met the model’s funding level. This year, the State School Fund was less than the model called for, but the draft “Report on the Adequacy of Public Education Appropriations” says that if other revenue streams are added in, especially the Student Success Act, then Oregon actually met the model’s funding goals.
Education advocates have issues with the accounting, but they say the final number is not the point. They are calling for deeper discussions with the Legislature about Oregon’s education goals and how to get to them.
Joint meeting of the House Interim Revenue and the Senate Interim Finance and Revenue committees, 8:30 a.m. Wednesday: On the last day of Legislative Days, legislators will receive an economic report that will tell them how much money they will have for issues raised in the other hearings.
The Legislature receives quarterly economic and revenue reports. Confusingly they always are named for the month after which they appear. So on Wednesday, legislators will have a presentation on the December Economic and Revenue Forecast.
Typically, a forecast this early in the biennium has little impact unless it’s really disastrous. Usually, if it’s good news, it means a kicker is possible, but the Legislature doesn’t really have to do anything. If it’s down a little, there is still time for the economy to right itself.
The September report was a first warning about HR 1’s expected hit to Oregon’s budget, though. This forecast is expected to give a better idea of just how badly HR 1 has reset Oregon’s economy and revenue picture and whether the Legislature needs to act soon.
This is the report that gives the rest of the week context. The revenue numbers and the economic outlook will determine if legislators go into the short session in February looking to slash or feeling like they can hold fast in most spots with a boost from the roughly $3.4 billion Oregon has in reserve accounts.
– Jake Arnold, OSBA
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