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Kitzhaber has plan to fund schools Proposal wouldn't increase taxes By PETER WONG Gov. John Kitzhaber proposes to boost support for public schools, but the three-point plan he unveiled Thursday in Medford does not call for a major tax increase or a revision of Oregon's tax system. The Democratic chief executive wants to qualify the plan for a statewide vote in the 2000 general election and bypass Republican legislative majorities, which he said did not provide support he considered "adequate." "The problem with school funding today is not the tax system," he said at the downtown campus of Rogue Community College. "It is a lack of political will on the part of the elected Legislature to invest the resources that this economy is bringing in." Since Oregon voters approved limits on local property taxes in 1990, state income taxes now support 70 percent of school costs, and state aid is the largest item in the two-year state budget. The 1999 Legislature set aside $4.81 billion, more than the $4.73 billion that Republican leaders proposed initially. But it was short of the $4.95 billion that Kitzhaber and Democrats said was needed to help most students achieve state standards. Kitzhaber's plan would consist of three constitutional amendments: One would require the Legislature to provide enough money to educate most students to attain state standards under a 1991 law -- or explain why it cannot. "Adequate funding will come only when the people of Oregon, through their elected representatives, are willing to back their stated commitment to the goals of the Education Act with the financial resources to achieve them," he said. "That is not what the recently adjourned Legislature did." Another would let the state match the tax effort of property-poor districts when voters approve more property taxes for schools. The higher taxes still would have to be within the 1990 statewide limits. Because some districts have low property values per student, they would have to set high rates to raise the same amounts as property-rich districts. About 150 of Oregon's 198 districts would qualify for as much as $100 million in state matching funds every two years. But Kitzhaber said the Legislature would not need to set aside the maximum immediately. A third would create a "rainy-day fund" from investment earnings of the Common School Fund, lottery proceeds that go into an educational endowment, and a portion of excess income taxes known as the "kicker." The Legislature could tap the reserve fund for school aid during an economic downturn, when income tax collections are down. The latter may be controversial because Republican majorities have resisted Kitzhaber's efforts to use the "kicker" for anything other than rebates to taxpayers. The Legislature has referred a measure to voters next year to decide whether to lock it into the constitution. "I firmly believe that if Oregon voters are given a reasonable proposal to save some portion of future surplus revenues to ensure quality in schools, they will approve it," Kitzhaber said. Dan Thorndike, a member of the Ashland School Board and counsel for family-owned Medford Fabrication, said a good school system is needed to educate future workers for his business and others. "We have a high-quality educational system and high standards," he said. "But the last legislative session demonstrated how precarious the existing system is." Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 1999, Medford, Oregon USA