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M/CLOUDY Temp: 56 °F Wind: CLM at 0 mph Tuesday, April 29, 2003 SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map EXTRA HomeLife Magazine W3 Magazine Jobs @ Mail Tribune Tempo A & E Oregon CarZone Wellness Connection Real Estate Newspaper in Education Prime Times Outdoor Journal Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People CLASSIFIEDS Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Find Everything E SOUTHERN OREGON Automotive Communities Entertainment Publications Recreation Calendar ABOUT US FAQ What's New Advertise Home Delivery Classified Ad Contact Us Media Kit Email Story to a Friend August 29, 2002 School-money measure has more allies this time Some of those who opposed a similar plan in May change their tune for September By DAMIAN MANN Mail Tribune Even opponents of Measure 13 have decided that the time has come to back a similar ballot proposal in September to plug a $7 million shortfall in funding for Jackson County schools. The Sept. 17 ballot Ballots go out on Friday for the Sept. 17 mail-in special election. The ballot will include the following: Measure 19 (statewide): Authorizes transfer of $150 million from school endowment fund to help plug shortfalls in school funding for 2002-2003. Creates education stability fund. Measure 20 (statewide): Increases cigarette tax by 60 cents to fund the Oregon Health Plan and other programs. Measure 15-30 (White City): Creates an annual levy of $541,000 for five years to fund additional law enforcement officers. Replaces expiring existing levy. Measure 15-29 (Shady Cove): Creates a water supply district in Shady Cove. Voters also will be asked to elect five commissioners for the district. Measure 19, a scaled-down version of May’s failed Measure 13, asks voters on Sept. 17 to endorse spending $150 million on Oregon schools by taking the money out of an education endowment fund. That would leave $98 million remaining in the account, which legislators say would help start a rainy-day fund for education. Jim Bond of the Oregon Education Association office in Medford said he supports Measure 19 but added it is not a long- term solution for funding schools. That’s up to lawmakers in Salem to determine, he said. "Measure 19 is nothing more than a short-term fix," said Bond, who opposed Measure 13. "It’s a Band- Aid on a hemorrhage." Gov. John Kitzhaber has also changed his stance. Kitzhaber spokesman Tom Towslee said his boss decided to support the Measure 19 mainly because the state's revenue picture has continued to grow more dire. Voters will begin receiving ballots Friday for the September special election, which also includes a state proposal to increase cigarette taxes to fund the Oregon Health Plan and other programs. Measure 19 would amend the Oregon Constitution. The OEA, the governor and other educational associations opposed Measure 13 because they said it would have raided $220 million from the school endowment fund to provide a one-time funding fix. The endowment fund was set up to provide debt service for education bonds and scholarships for college students. Bond said educational organizations have changed their stance because schools already have taken it on the chin this year from one budget cut after another. "It is critical that this passes to prevent any further short-term losses," he said. "All of the school districts in Southern Oregon have sacrificed quality education because of a lack of funding." June Buck, president-elect of the Medford Education Association, said schools have run out of time to debate the long- term merits of Measure 19. "Now we’re at the point where school has started and we desperately need the money," she said. The Medford School District already has taken a hit from earlier cutbacks of $2.4 million, resulting in larger class sizes because there are fewer teachers. "Students are getting one period of music per week instead of two," she said. "We also hated losing many of our counselors at the elementary schools." Peggy Penland, a Medford School Board member, said the $2.4 million reduction resulted in the loss of 52 positions to the district. If Measure 19 failed, the district would face a $3.4 million reduction, which would equate to about 74 positions, if the same cost-per-position figure were applied. Chuck Bennett, director of government relations at the Confederation of Oregon School Administrators, said schools throughout the state already have lost a combined $198 million from previous cutbacks. Legislators will hold an unprecedented fifth special session starting Tuesday to deal with a new shortfall estimated at $482 million. If legislators make a proportional cut in education, that would translate into a loss of $640 a student, almost $20 million overall in Jackson County. If Measure 19 fails as well, Bennett said schools would lose $870 a student, about $26 million total in Jackson County for 2002-03. Since schools receive $5,085 from the state for a typical student, this would mean an overall loss of 17 percent of school revenues. "There is no way to cut it," he said. "This is a huge loss to schools." While many schools have absorbed major reductions — more than $7 million in Jackson County so far — with relatively minor impacts to the classroom, Bennett said, "We have not seen what those cuts mean yet because they have not been completed." Irrespective of the outcome of the special session, most Jackson County school officials want Measure 19 to pass to avoid more cuts. Ashland School Board member Amy Amrhein said her district, which has discussed eliminating as many as 20 days from the school year, has passed a resolution in support of the measure. Unlike other school officials, she sees some promise in creating a stability account. "I like the idea that is a rainy day fund, which we have needed for a long time," she said. Reach reporter Damian Mann at 776-4476, or e-mail [email protected] Printer Friendly Version Email Story to a Friend Subscribe Archive: Click to Search Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright © 1997-2003 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions Website Feedback A D V E R T I S E R S