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Lawmakers set up end game on school funding By PETER WONG SALEM -- The stage was set last week for budget talks to seek agreement on school funding and close this session of the Oregon Legislature. $4.6 billion here, $5.6 billion there ... Below are some numbers mentioned in the Legislature's debate about state aid for Oregon's 198 school districts in the next two years: $4.6 billion : The amount originally proposed separately last year by Gov. John Kitzhaber and Senate President Brady Adams, R-Grants Pass. Kitzhaber's budget, which he unveiled Dec. 1, included $100 million linked to improved academic performance, $50 million for technology, and $20 million for schools in distressed areas. $4.725 billion : The amount that House Republican leaders have proposed but not mustered a majority for. $4.765 billion : The amount that Steve Wisely, Medford schools superintendent, estimates is needed statewide for the district to continue services without cuts. $4.95 billion : The amount that Kitzhaber said on March 15 is needed to move most pupils in kindergarten through grade 3 toward achieving the state's new academic standards. He originally proposed to keep surplus personal income taxes and raise corporate income taxes to reach that amount. When the Legislature gave those ideas a cold reception, Kitzhaber proposed last week to get some of the extra money by borrowing against part of the state's proceeds from the national tobacco settlement. $4.96 billion : The amount that Rep. Lynn Lundquist, R-Powell Butte, said on March 24 is needed to make progress toward the standards. He was deposed the next day as chairman of the Legislature's budget subcommittee on education. $5.1 billion : The amount sought Feb. 15 by the Coalition for School Funding Now, a group of parents and others who want more aid to schools. $5.6 billion : The amount that a state panel Lundquist headed recommended on March 4 for full support of schools. Faced with opposition from Republican legislative leaders, Democratic Gov. John Kitzhaber dropped his proposals to boost state aid to public schools by retaining surplus personal income taxes and raising corporate income taxes. He substituted a proposal to borrow millions by using a portion of the state's pending proceeds from the national tobacco settlement. "If they are adamant about those proposals, let's take them off the table," Kitzhaber said. "Let's demonstrate that we still can reach more money for schools without devastating the rest of the state budget." Faced with opposition from five Republicans, including Rep. Rob Patridge of Medford, House Speaker Lynn Snodgrass dropped her plan to move a school-aid budget smaller than that favored by Kitzhaber, Democrats in both houses, and some Senate Republicans, including Sen. Lenn Hannon of Ashland. Though Snodgrass dislikes Kitzhaber's latest proposal, Senate President Brady Adams, R-Grants Pass, has not dismissed it. Adams said now that the latest state revenue forecast is in, he is ready to start talking. "It appears that because of the House, I am not certain whether that is going to occur starting Monday," he said Friday. "But I am ready to have a meeting, one that is more than just about the size of the table. There is nothing new that is going to pop up in the next couple of weeks that will change what we have to work with. So it is time to come together." The dominant issue in the two-year, $11 billion state budget is the amount of aid that Oregon's 198 school districts will share. Districts receive 75 percent of their money from the state, and that aid is the largest chunk of the state budget. Medford School Superintendent Steve Wisely has said that his district, the state's seventh largest, needs a statewide aid level of $4.765 billion just to balance its own budget without cuts. Snodgrass and most of the 34 House Republicans appear willing to settle for $4.725 billion. But Patridge and four other Republicans told her last week they are leery of voting for an amount they expect the Senate to increase anyway. They say such a vote could cause them political difficulties at home in next year's campaigns. "Simple math should tell you that if those five Republicans go, and none of the 25 Democrats pull away, she does not have a majority," said Rep. Judy Uherbelau, D-Ashland. Kitzhaber insists on $4.95 billion, which he said is the minimum needed to keep 90 percent of Oregon pupils from kindergarten through grade 3 on track toward achieving the state's new academic standards. He proposes to reach that amount by borrowing $150 million through bonds, backed by annual payments of $15 million from the tobacco settlement for 15 years, though he still prefers to use the same amount from surplus personal income taxes. He also would spend $130 million directly from the settlement for schools in this budget period. "The main policy question is whether we are going to operate our state government on cash or credit," he said. "If we are forced to borrow money from future children to finance adequate education today, I doubt that is good policy. But I am willing to do it if that is the only way out of here." His proposal is a variation of one suggested earlier this year by state Treasurer Jim Hill. Hannon is one of at least four Republican senators, and possibly as many as seven, who want an amount between the House's low figure and the $5.1 billion demanded by advocates in the Coalition for School Funding Now. Although he criticized Hill's original proposal as gimmickry, Hannon said he suggested that Kitzhaber consider it. "This time, if it is important to reach $4.95 billion for schools, I think we have to use every innovative approach necessary to achieve it," he said. But Snodgrass said the tobacco settlement money is "an unstable funding source." Patridge dislikes the idea of using it for short-term bonds, much as lottery proceeds were used two years ago to support bonds for some school costs. "I think we have been too dependent on it," he said. Adams said he has not ruled out an increase in school aid, "but when we have that discussion, it needs to include accountability, not just the numbers." Kitzhaber and GOP leaders agree that extra state aid to districts should be linked to improvements in student performance. Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 1999, Medford, Oregon USA