This is a piece that I am working on for a school assignment. Part of my reason for posting it here is to see if it is a little long. Another is to inform. Though the piece argues against the measure it is not to say that it should not pass it is to say that more than passing the measure needs to be done in order to take on the crisis facing the Oregon K-12 system.
Measure
85
With
Oregon schools in dire need of more funding Measure 85 seeks to
answer this need. The achievement gap in Oregon is wide and many
students are not getting adequate educations much less the quality
education that they deserve considering our rhetoric about being the
land of opportunity. However after considering a the measure it seems
to be a good intentioned piece of reform that would not provide what
it seeks to offer and could potentially harm its constituents in the
long term. In order to address the gap Oregon voters will need to
take stronger action on behalf of their schools in order to provide
equity to the system.
The
measure proposes that the corporate kicker be retained and that money
be alloted to the state's general fund for the purpose of funding
public education.[1] The general fund has paid back $2.6 billion to
private citizens and $527 million to corporations. [2] Proponents
argue that the money is a dire need for already underfunded public
schools. The independent "Citizens' Initiative Review"
ruled in favor of the measure by a vote of 19-5. [3]
My
arguments as to why the measure is insufficient are given briefly:
- In the language of the initiative there is no provision against other general fund spending needs being taken from the school budget with those costs being covered by the revenue from the kicker. [4] [5] While it seeks to solve an issue it cannot provide an exact picture of how this will happen.
- The kicker is an unstable resource. What guarantee is there that kicker funds would be available after the measure is passed? According to the Willamette Week the kicker is not projected to take effect again until 2017.[6]
- By circumventing the legislature with this effort, Measure 85 would remove one bargaining chip in what could be a bi-lateral, long term reform, as an Oregonian columnist argues. [7]
If
Measure 85 is not an effective answer to this need to fill the gap,
what is? I feel the answer is, at least in part, in concerted public
action. Not simply awareness that will wear away after the shock of
where our schools are is brought to light, but action. We live in a
democracy that thrives on an educated populace. If however, kids are
not being educated to a sufficient level this does not bode well for
our collective future. Therefore it is our right and responsibility
as voters and participants to act on behalf of our state's kids.
The
first mode of action is knowledge. Who are the politicians most
responsible for controlling funding? What is in competition for
school funding? Are there policies in place that make an inefficient
use of state funding? Beyond this knowledge, do people know what is
going on in schools? It is easy to read a newspaper article about how
a school is failing on standardized tests but do people know that
there exists a significant gap between who is succeeding and who is
not that bears a strong racial correlation? Are people aware of the
overwhelming cost to the state that comes from this gap? [See 8 for a
link to the report on the national cost of this gap]
The
second phase is political action. Not in terms of checking a ballot
measure but in working at the city, county and state level asking
those in charge of finances to work on behalf of schools and to work
in a way that reflects the urgency of the situation. In Changing
the Odds for Children at Risk (2009),
Susan B Neuman states that one aspect of a successful program is
accountability. The state is running the program that is public
schools so they must be held accountable by the voters in ensuring
that schools are equipped with enough teachers to do their jobs in
the most effective manner and that the teachers are quality
professionals, professionalism being another aspect of a successful
program.
How
does this relate to Measure 85? Measure 85 is an attempt by educators
to get something done about the lack of funding. (See the comments
section following note 4) However it is not just their job to see
that they are given the tools to succeed. They need better than a
hope of extra funding. They need the electorate working on their
behalf in Salem, pushing for something more than just one part of the
kicker to be reworked but a hard look at the whole tax system. (A
brief scan of editorials shows that the kicker, both private and
corporate, is not a popular concept.) In the rhetoric against this
measure many point out that its main backing comes from teacher
unions. They play this as a chance for unions to make a buck.
However, does it not also stand to reason that teachers are the ones
most aware of the need and as such are the most desirous to act?
As
citizens we must push lawmakers during this next session to not stop
until tax reform and school budgeting has been thoroughly addressed
and solutions are put forward. Handling the revenues for an entire
state is no small matter, so it would be idiotic to think that a
solution can just be whipped up, but there can be effort put in that
direction. It is the opinion of this writer that the effort put into
tackling school funding reform will only be as motivated as the
effort of those outside of the capitol put into seeing it done.
Oregon
schools are at risk of an ever widening gap in equity due in large
part to deficient funding. However this measure does not offer a
clear solution to this need. The measure has several weak points that
make it hard to hope that it will provide the solution to public
schools that it claims to be. Rather it is the duty of voters to move
beyond acting only in November and become aware of the stark reality
facing Oregon and push elected officials to work on the state's
behalf for the good of all.
1.
[http://oregonvotes.org/irr/2012/035text.pdf]
2.
[http://www.oregon.gov/dor/news/docs/kicker.pdf]
3.
[http://healthydemocracy.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/Prelim_Final_Report_8.10.12.pdf]
4.
[http://www.registerguard.com/web/opinion/28780760-47/kicker-corporate-tax-measure-refunds.html.csp
{see the comments section for a defense of the measure by an advocate
from Our Oregon}]
5.
[http://ouroregon.org/sites/ouroregon.org/files/fckeditor/file/IP35%20In%20Depth.pdf]
8.
[http://www.huffingtonpost.com/kevin-p-chavous/if-you-want-our-economy-f_b_1700195.html]
