The Oregonian today is brimming with stories, commentary, letters, and analysis all focusing on the obvious issue du jour, taxes, and the underfunding of local public services, especially schools.
First we have an op-ed piece written by my former principal at Evergreen in Hillsboro, Joe Rodriguez, who is all over the map in proposing ideas for funding schools, and running them more efficiently. His ideas range from doing something about low business taxes (exactly what isn't clear, aside from tinkering with the infamous tax kicker) to consoldating school districts, eliminating ESD's, and privatizing educational services, an argument which he promptly undermines by saying:
"As we privatize, however, we need to be mindful that contracting out is accomplished on the backs of workers through reduced salaries and benefits."
Good thinking, Joe. You suppose that funding schools on the "backs of school workers" may have something to do with the widespread opposition to privatization schemes?
As a principal, Joe was energetic and authoritarian, meaning he liked the sound of his pronouncements but not the ideas of others. According to my sources, that's why his tenure as Superintendent of the Hillsboro School District ended somewhat abruptly last year.
A better analysis of the fiscal crisis afflicting public education comes from the folks at Stand for Children (who didn't endorse me for school board, a decision they should regret, given the silence of the board on the governor's pathetic proposed budget.) Here's their letter to the O this morning:
Demand better for schools
Gov. Ted Kulongoski's rhetoric on school funding doesn't match reality. He's called for an "education Marshall Plan," recognizing that our economy will never rebound without a stronger education system. Yet his budget for K-12 schools will yet again force districts to raise class sizes and lop days, if not weeks, off the school year.
Unless we, the public, demand better, his budget will deliver a $36 million reduction in funding for Portland Public Schools. That's right: $36 million in Portland alone, with a similar devastating impact on other Multnomah County schools and classrooms around the state.
Our classrooms have already weathered too many cuts and too much uncertainty. It's time to take a stand and say: No more.
The Oregonian asked in a Nov. 13 editorial, "(W)ho is going to stand up and demand a full school year for every child in this state?" Stand for Children's 1,400 Oregon members are committed to answering The Oregonian's question. We are.
Join us as we prepare to lobby the Legislature for a responsible level of school funding. Call 503-235-2305 or 1-800-663-4032.
BEVERLY PERTTU
SHANNON CAMPION
JONAH EDELMAN Stand for Children Southeast Portland
The only way the $36 million hit to the Portland District can be redressed is with increased taxes. The district has already cut administration and outsourced custodial services (that move saved the district, maybe, $3 million a year, but on the "backs of school workers", as Joe Rodriguez put it.) Stand for Children doesn't come out and say, directly, that we need higher taxes, but this next letter does:
Anti-tax groups wield power
Gov. Ted Kulongoski's "no new taxes" pledge is further indication that the far right controls debate in Oregon.
Most legislators would have supported restoring the 10-cent tax on cigarettes and raising the minimum corporate tax of $10 per year. But the successes of anti-tax groups such as Citizens for a Sound Economy have cowed Oregon's leaders into silence regarding even such obvious revenue sources.
Citizens for a Sound Economy deceitfully persuades voters that government requires diminishing amounts of revenue, even as the public appetite and the costs for services grow. Yet in truth, this group is not interested in taxpayers' rights so much as in downsizing government's role in providing education and human services.
ROB KUGLER West Linn
In the meantime, the state keeps handing our tax credits to corporations, the latest a $21 billion windfall to PGE from the Department of Environmental Quality for a for a facility that stores radioactive waste from PGE's decommisioned Trojan Nuclear Plant. According to PGE the money "... will benefit PGE's 755,000 customers by helping offset any future rate increases." What a deal!
Ratepayers have for years been subsidizing Enron by paying the state and federal taxes the company is supposed to pay, but never has. The money --that's ratepayer money-- just disappears into the black hole that is Enron. And Enron still owns PGE, don't forget.
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