EDITORIAL: Our view: School spending falls short
Jun. 12—It seems unlikely that members of the Oregon Education Association, the teachers union that lavishes most of its campaign contributions on Democratic candidates, will ever pine for Republicans to have more clout in the Oregon Legislature.
At least not publicly.
But recent actions in Salem, where the Democrats have supermajorities in the House and Senate, might well have given some union officials, and members, reason to at least ponder their political preferences.
Last week, Republicans in the House advocated for the state to spend $300 million more for public schools in the two-year budget cycle that starts July 1. But GOP members don't have the votes to move the school budget bill back to a committee, where the amount could be increased, so the bill went to Gov. Kate Brown's desk at $9.3 billion. Republicans called for $9.6 billion, the amount the Oregon School Boards Association had suggested is necessary to avoid any program cuts or layoffs.
Just two Democrats — Mark Meek of Oregon City and Marty Wilde of Eugene — joined 20 Republicans in voting for a motion to send the bill back to committee, with a goal of boosting the spending to $9.6 billion over the two years.
That wasn't enough Democratic support.
Rep. Susan McClain, a Democrat from Forest Grove who's chair of the education budget subcommittee, tried to defend the $9.3 billion by saying that the Legislature is "creating record investments in public schools this year."
The $9.3 billion figure is up from $9 billion in the current two-year budget cycle.
Rep. Dan Rayfield, D-Corvallis, co-leader of the Legislature's joint budget panel, said, "It is our job as a legislature to find out what is the Goldilocks porridge in our budget that meets the needs of our children, but also at the same time, is a sustainable budget that we can continue to operate on."
The more apt fairy tale in this case is Rumpelstiltskin.
The federal government has been spinning quite a lot of gold during the pandemic, and one result is that Oregon's revenue is burgeoning. The most recent estimate from state economist Mark McMullen, released in May, is for an additional $1.18 billion in the soon-to-end biennium, with much of that coming from rising income tax collections spurred by federal stimulus payments. McMullen projects an increase of $1.25 billion from projects for the biennium that starts July 1, and $1.64 million more for the 2023-2025 budget cycle.
Put simply, the state absolutely can afford the $9.6 billion schools budget the Republicans, and too few Democrats, have advocated for.
House Minority Leader Christine Drazan, R-Canby, pointed out that the flush state coffers isn't the only reason to boost education spending.
Oregon students have also suffered greatly during the pandemic, with in-person classes limited at times in every district, and students in some of the larger districts missing more than a year of normal schooling.
"As we ask our schools to bring kids back to have full in-person learning five days a week, they are going to be bombarded with unknowns," Drazan said. "The need for them to have the resources necessary to create an environment where these kids can be successful cannot be overstated. Our state has more money than ever, and we're committed to giving families the choice of in-person learning next fall. This is the wrong time to move forward with a 'cuts' budget. Our kids deserve better."
Indeed they do. It's a pity that the majority Democrats in Salem, who can always count on support from the teachers union, didn't do the same for their political benefactors.
