The governor has informed Oregon House and Senate leaders to prepare for a potential special legislative session September 30. Why? “Because we have a unique opportunity to boost education funding and turn the corner on teacher layoffs and lost school days once and for all,” said Oregon’s governor.
“After spending the summer meeting with community leaders, parents, teachers, students, business owners, labor representatives and legislators from communities across the state, three things have become clear to me:
1. We are well-positioned to stabilize school budgets this year and begin to reinvest in coming years.
2. There is strong support for a balanced approach that combines cost savings from additional PERS reforms with an investment of new revenue.
3. There is a growing concern that an otherwise productive Legislature could surrender to the pressure of campaign politics and the pull of inaction over compromise.
Time is short. Unless we act now, students returning to school this week will continue to face cuts in the classroom. Even with increased funding this year, few districts have been able to restore all of the teaching positions and school days lost during multiple years of cuts.
The PERS and revenue package we are working on would restore teachers and school days in every district, including up to:
• 84 additional teachers in Beaverton
• 45 additional teachers in Bend-La Pine
• 36 additional teachers and counselors in Salem-Keizer
• Additional librarians, counselors and PE teachers in Portland
A solution is within reach, but it only makes sense to convene the Legislature if it is willing to act. That is why I continue to work with Republican and Democratic leaders on the details of a plan that would reduce the PERS system’s unfunded liability by a total of $5 billion while generating $200 million in new revenue. Thank you again for all of your support. Oregon is on the right track, but we clearly have unfinished business. Please join me in urging the Legislature to come together to invest in Oregon students this year. We need to get it done for Oregon’s children, for Oregon’s economy, for Oregon’s future.
I’m in for schools, are you?”
