My wife and I have two children, Zoe and Tatum, that will soon be entering public school. I want them to get a great education and graduate from college with a world full of opportunities. China and India are doing a great job of educating and preparing their workforce. That is good because the whole world needs to do well. But Oregon needs to be positioned to compete with them in a global economy. K-12 and higher education has to be effective, efficient and yes, fully funded by the legislature. Here is my 12 point plan for schools:
1) Repeal the corporate kicker and dedicate the funds to schools.
Instead of waiting for the right to frame the issues and play defense, I’ll build a coalition that will promote and call for the repeal of the corporate kicker for schools. Others wait in silence for the opportunity to come their way to do the right thing—well we can’t wait any longer.
2) Establish a “Rainy Day” fund.
We need a stable budget so that we can begin to make long-term decisions. We also need a rainy day fund that truly saves in the surplus years—that will build trust with the voters and help make the case for other long term tax reforms. At the local level, jurisdictions can work with voters not on “temporary” fixes for years with up and down funding levels, but ones that fit into a long term strategy at the state. At the state level, the stability will allow the legislature to concentrate on long term tax reform.
3) Dedicate lottery funds to education.
$43 million is available in surplus revenue. The bulk of the funding should be dedicated to schools with some available for affordable housing development for families with children.
4) Hold the legislature legally accountable to appropriately fund schools.
I support the lawsuit against the state that would require appropriate funding. Holding the legislature accountable to fund schools may be the best avenue we have to get action.
5) Support arts, music, sports and after schools programs.
These are not fringe programs. These are critical to the success of our children.
6) Pursue long-term tax reforms—that includes putting the individual kicker and sales tax on the table.
Silence is acceptance. We can’t give up on these issues. I’m tired of a legislature that is unwilling to even talk about these resource strategies. One thing is certain. If we don’t put them on the table, they will never be a possibility.
7) Fight corporate loopholes that siphon funds from education.
Sadly, there are corporations like Enron and their subsidiaries who ripped off Oregonians for more than $800 million. That money could have gone to schools. Some legislators stood by their side in Salem. We need legislators that will stand up and do the right thing—like standing up against powerful and well funded special interests like Enron.
8) Create an allocation formula to assure smaller class sizes in Beaverton and Portland.
Class sizes are too big. Some elementary schools have nearly 1,000 students. Other schools are teaching students in trailers. If a school district has more than 20 students per class, they should receive more funding to pay for more teachers.
9) Increase community college’s ability to secure growing demand for professional technical information.
Community college is one of the best ways to get trained quickly and enter a higher level work force. Oregonians need a reliable technology education source.
10) Pool insurance costs for educators to save money for schools.
We need to do a better job of using our economy of scale in the education system. Pooling our buying power to negotiate better deals will save us money so we can spend it on the classrooms.
11) Assure higher education system is well interrogated with needs of Oregon Businesses.
Our graduates need specialized and advanced skills when they enter the work force. Our economic drivers should be involved in helping shape and teach programs in our universities.
12) Make sure schools are using best practices.
We need to evaluate all Oregon school district and make sure each of them are as effective and efficient as possible.
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Sam was a substitute teacher in Chicago’s Cabrini Green Neighborhood housing project, for some of the most neglected schools in the city. Sam saw first hand the result of a school district that looses its middle class. Large class sizes required teachers to spend their time managing classrooms rather than teaching them.
Sam organized parents, teachers and community members to help pass a bond that raised $197 million to repair schools and pay for computers and other technology.
© 2010 Sam Chase for State Senate
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