Oregon Legislature’s “grand bargain” will help schools next year
Good news from Salem: The Oregon Legislature has hammered out a deal that includes more funding for public schools next year.
This year’s school funding is not affected. The legislation will add $100 million for Oregon schools next year, 2014–15. PERS changes that also were approved will provide schools some cost relief in the future, but not until 2015–16.
This is encouraging news for students and schools. The additional funding won’t solve our district’s continuing budget challenges nor adequately fund Oregon’s schools. However, any new revenue that allows us to retain more staffing or school days is good for our students.
We are grateful to the legislators who returned to Salem and persevered to work out this bipartisan “grand bargain” to aid schools.
