Principle: Children’s educational needs are met and adults have lifelong opportunities to develop career skills through post-secondary education, ongoing training and professional development.

Children must be ready to learn when they enter school and the education they receive must prepare them for success at every stage, including college and the workforce. Communities and families should be engaged in supporting the success, safety, and well-being of all children. Oregon must also invest in post-secondary education to promote future economic prosperity. As our economy grows and changes, adults need access to the continued workforce training opportunities that open doors to living-wage employment.

Governor Kulongoski believes an education system should foster learning by providing a transparent and seamless transition throughout each stage of learning. Education should be an enterprise for Oregon’s future – not three independent sectors. The Governor’s 2005-07 Recommended Budget reflects this innovative approach to equip Oregonians with the knowledge and skills to be successful in the 21st century economy.

 

Oregon has become a high-tuition/low-aid state, closing the doors on far too many Oregonians. The Governor’s Recommended Budget recognizes this barrier by focusing on increasing student access and making targeted investments in post-secondary learning opportunities. The Governor’s budget includes nearly a 100 percent increase in funding for Oregon Opportunity Grants, which will provide postsecondary access to an additional 60,000 Oregon students.

 

As part of the Governor’s priority to reduce the barriers to higher levels of education, the Governor’s budget includes funding for the alignment of transferring undergraduate credits throughout all of Oregon community colleges and Oregon University System (OUS) campuses. The Governor’s budget also invests in joint capital construction projects between Oregon’s community colleges and OUS so all Oregonians have access to the most up-to-date and current technologies, research tools, and other higher education learning resources.

 

The Governor’s Recommended Budget focuses on system efficiencies in the PreK-12 system in order to free up more money for the classroom. The Governor believes there are opportunities for additional efficiencies through the consolidation of ESDs (Education Service Districts) and through increasing the expectations for their role and partnership with the Oregon Department of Education in supporting schools. For example, the Governor will explore transferring the central office business functions of some school districts to the ESDs, as today’s technology makes obsolete the need for all 198 individual districts to employ their own staff and systems.

 

The Governor’s budget invests in a PreK-16 statewide data system to provide better transmission of student, accounting and managerial data. This statewide data system will help teachers meet the individual needs of all students and administrators cut costs, and most importantly, it will result in a stronger, more accountable education system for our students and the public. The Governor remains committed to implementing a statewide K-12 health insurance pool, which will result in a reduction of overhead costs and increased opportunities for classroom investment.

 

The Governor is committed to a stable PreK-16 system. In his budget, he provides a sustainable increase in K-12 funding that does not rely on any one-time money. The Governor’s budget also leverages federal resources to expand state investments in education programs at all levels in cooperation with the state’s workforce training system. These efforts will help Oregonians access opportunities to enhance their skills and improve the quality of Oregon’s workforce.