| Remarks by Governor Ted Kulongoski |
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| April 30, 2006 |
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Bill-Signing Ceremony (SB 1106, Gap Bond Authority for Portland Public Schools)
Thank you very much. It’s a great honor to visit Jackson Middle School, and I’m happy to see so many of the people who stood up for Portland’s schools standing here to share in the reward for your hard work. I’m especially glad to see so many students. I know there are a lot of adults walking around in suits and dresses today – but don’t let that get you down. Today is not about us – today is about you! About your careers and jobs. Your hopes and dreams. And most of all, your future.
This has been a great week for public education in Oregon! Just eight days ago, the Oregon Legislature held the shortest special session in its history. But don’t let the length of the session mislead you. When the day was over, there were winners all around. And maybe the biggest winner of all was public education in Portland. The session showed that when the chips are down and our students, parents and teachers need help – together we can give that help. I congratulate legislators from both parties – in the House and the Senate – for working in good faith, reaching across party lines, and quickly getting down to business to increase funding for Portland schools, not just next year, but for the next three years.
I want to acknowledge three of the people who went the extra mile to make this day possible. In a moment, I’ll ask Senator Majority Leader Kate Brown and House Democratic Leader Jeff Merkley to say a few words. These two great legislative leaders have been both forceful advocates for our public schools and very good at rounding up votes
I’m also delighted that Portland School Superintendent Vicki Phillips is here. Vicki is tough, smart, determined, and a great partner for everyone in Salem fighting for stronger schools in Portland.
Let me begin with this simple statement: A new day is coming for students, teachers and parents, and we have already taken the first critical steps toward putting Oregon back on the road to investing in education. That means we are on our way toward making education in Oregon the best in America with a system that educates and trains the most capable and reliable workforce in the world.
Just a few days ago, I signed a bill that injected an additional 42.2 million dollars into Oregon’s public schools. The state will distribute these funds to every school district according to the standard allocation formula. For Portland Public schools, this means an extra 3.4 million dollars to help resolve the budget shortfall in the 2006-07 school year.
This funding, coupled with my Education Enterprise proposal that I’ll talk about in a moment, is money school districts across Oregon can use to recover some programs and services they lost to budget cuts during the recession. I’m talking about physical education, shop, music, art, and other programs that people of my generation took for granted when we were young. I’m also talking about paying for real necessities, including building maintenance and repair, books and teaching materials. The bottom line is this: 42.2 million dollars will provide a welcome boost for school kids throughout Oregon.
Today, I’m going to sign another bill that’s special just to Portland Public Schools. Senate Bill 1106 extends Portland’s gap bond authority, allowing the school board to provide an additional 15 million dollars a year, for the next three more years. This bill empowers Portland to deal with the budgetary challenge facing this city’s schools, both for the short term and the long term. It provides flexibility and enables the citizens of Portland, acting through their school board, to address funding issues that I know concern every student and parent in this city.
I had three goals in recommending Senate Bill 1106 to the Legislature. First, to make sure that Portland Public Schools has the budget authority it needs to avoid cutting school days. Second, to help Portland avoid having to increase class size. And third, to give Portland the flexibility to reinstate lost academic programs and avoid new cuts to programs that are critical to a high quality education.
I believe Senate Bill 1106 achieves all these goals – even though it contains no mandates. The bill simply gives power to citizens and their school board. It’s a bill that’s all about local control, and that’s how it should be.
In closing, I want to assure you that I intend to keep the ball rolling for public education in Oregon. I don’t want to lose the momentum we’ve already achieved. If we intend to maintain a fast growing economy that keeps our brightest young minds studying and working in Oregon, we must have a stable and well-funded public education system. And I promise you, I will not settle for anything less.
That’s why next year, I will propose a 6 billion dollar budget for K through 12. That’s a 12-percent increase over the current biennium. I will also fight for passage of my Education Enterprise, which will devote 61 percent of the General Fund to education – from pre-K, to K through 12, to community colleges and universities, to workforce training and retraining.
At the same time, my vision includes a guaranteed 10 percent increase for each sector of the Education Enterprise every two years and an investment or reinvestment fund. If we succeed in creating the Education Enterprise, we’ll put the days of cutting school budgets behind us forever and make public education the engine of our prosperity, as we all know it must be.
The bill I’m going to sign today takes us one step closer to that goal. So let’s get it done for these kids – and for every kid in Oregon. Thank you very much.
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