The Oregon senate Tuesday unanimously passed two education-spending bills to force teacher layoffs, larger classes, and shorter school years.
The Senate ignored recommendations from educator, unions and Democrats and authorized $5.7 billion that will leave schools far short of what they say they need for the next two years.
"I don't like it," Sen. Chris Edwards, D-Eugene, told senators. "But colleagues, you know what, this recession sucks. All these decisions suck and this budget sucks. But we don't have a choice. We have to do this."
Lawmakers said that since they can't give schools more money, they opted instead to give them certainty and stability. Sen. Rod Monroe, D-Portland, said the $5.7 billion in funding is "sacrosanct," even if tax collections continue to decline when the latest revenue projections are released in May.
"I can assure you, that number is firm," said Monroe, co-chair of the budget subcommittee that handles education. "It is not going to change. Sacrosanct. We're not going to whittle away at it even if the May forecast is down a little bit."
The education bills, HB5552 and HB 5553, draw on $123 million from two savings accounts, the Education Stability Fund and the Common School Fund.
The school funds are on track to be approved earlier than they have been in recent memory. Senators said they hope solidifying a funding floor by mid-April will give schools plenty of time to plan for the cuts they'll have to make. In addition, the lawmakers said they hope revenue picks up enough to give schools more money for the 2012-2013 school years when the Legislature reconvenes in February.
"We are telling special interests and we are also telling the people who elected us to be here that we are going to be states people, we are going to work bipartisan, and we are going to put education ... first," said Sen. Jason Atkinson, R-Central Point.
Predictability is great, but it's still important to fund schools at an adequate level, said Becca Uherbelau, representative for the Oregon Education Association, the state's largest teachers union. The OEA is lobbying for an additional $100 million from the Education Stability Fund, which the union says would protect 1,100 teacher positions.
"We know that the economy continues to struggle and that every school district in Oregon will face some difficult choices," Uherbelau said. "We hope that after the May forecast the Legislature will invest more from the Education Stability Fund to lessen the layoffs and cut days that we'll see in school districts across Oregon."
In a statement, Gov. John Kitzhaber stopped short of supporting the use of Education Stability Fund dollars, saying he wants lawmakers to view education spending as a whole instead of focusing narrowly on the K-12 budget. Before the Legislature sends him the education spending bills, Kitzhaber said, he wants an agreement from leaders that they won't slash funding for early childhood and higher education below the levels he proposed in February.
"Oregon's investment in education does not begin and end with the K-12 budget number," Kitzhaber said. "It's time to move beyond the fragmented approach to education funding that is a relic of the last century."
The vote now sets the stage for a larger fight Wednesday in the House, where a few Democrats are pushing for a $440 million in reserves for schools. Republicans as well have been demanding big savings be set aside to avoid more cuts if state revenue continue to decline.
