in Oregon! Let me be up front and tell you that once again, for this the
73rd Legislative Session, I am putting energy in the legislature toward
giving all students in Oregon's public K-12 schools access to a quality
education. I too believe that every Oregon child deserves a quality
education and the chance to receive the education and training for
optimal opportunities and that adequacy and failure for quality is not
acceptable. That is why I favor the Quality Education Model as an
appropriate way to define - and measure - what "quality" means.
Funding schools is an investment for Oregon. I see that preventative
measures - such as quality funding for early education - are truly the
only way that we will be able to protect the future of our children and
Oregon. I have lead the effort to successfully protect revenues that
are (and may be) raised locally. This is important for Portland's
local option and for federal grants and foundation grants. On the state
level I am also committed to find support:
1. If the state's revenues remain as current law provides, I would
favor giving a larger percentage of the budget to K-12 schools as your
suggest, as a smarter and more humane investment then prison.
2. Alternatively (and preferably), I would favor increasing state
general fund revenues by eliminating some tax credits or deductions.
We should not forget that schools need additional types of support, as
well. Our kids need parents like you who care enough to get involved
in the political process and try to affect change.
I remain optimistic that we can make the choices to increase the
state's revenue in order to fund public schools and other community services.
With a 10 year old daughter myself, I am completely dedicated to these
goals. I am only one legislator out of 90, however. What you and I
need to do to be effective is to speak with our friends and family who
do not live in our district. We need to encourage them to contact
their Representatives, urging them to not only fund our schools adequately,
but to give them the support that they need to have in order to be high
quality schools for our children.
Thank you for your thoughts.
Sincerely,
Mary Nolan
the Legislature. The Governor's budget allocation of $5.0 billion for
K-12 is simply inadequate. We need a minimum of $5.4 billion for our
public schools.
During this legislative session, we must do everything we can to find
additional revenue for the 2005-2007 school years so we don't have to
cut more programs, increase class sizes, and drop instructional days.
Although I would oppose a general tax increase, which the voters have
rejected, I believe there are a number of revenue-generating measures
that the legislature can and should consider.
For example, I strongly support reducing the commission that taverns
receive from video poker and lottery proceeds to 15%, which would
provide millions in additional school funding while maintaining ample
profits for tavern owners. I also support two provisions of the
voter-defeated tax measure that are not controversial: a renewal of the
ten cent cigarette tax and an increase in the corporate minimum tax,
which stands at only ten dollars for even the largest corporations. I
would also support an increase in Oregon's beer and wine tax, which is
currently among the lowest in the nation. These programs would not
completely solve our education funding crisis, but they would help.
In the long term, we need a tax dedicated solely to schools, and a
rainy day fund to support schools during economic downturns. We need to
support quality education without pitting it against other important
programs and initiatives, such as public safety and healthcare.
Please stay involved and hopeful. We need to hear as many voices on
behalf of our children as possible during these critical times. And
please stop by my office anytime you are in Salem. Thanks again for
your letter.
Sincerely,
Senator Ginny Burdick
District 18
