About this Site...
Adequate funding for education is not a new problem in Oregon. It is my hope that this site will provide new teachers in Oregon with useful information about how our schools are funded and a historical perspective on funding issues in Oregon.
Oregon has the MOST volatile funding for education and other social services in the country, so it is important for us as educators to understand why this is the case, and ways that we can help lessen the volatility of education funding. It is important to be very clear here, the state Legislature mainly fund operations of schools, school districts are still able to fund building through capital funds that they raise through local bond measures. Bonds for capital improvements fall outside of the Measures 5 & 50 laws.
The biggest change in Oregon Education funding came in 1990 with the passing of Measure 5. This measure changed the mechanism for education funding and limited the ability of local districts to fund schools separate from the state legislature. Understanding Measure 5 begins the story on Education funding in Oregon.
It is important to think about what the Oregon Legislature funds, and where these funds go to truly understand Oregon Education Funding.
Oregon has the MOST volatile funding for education and other social services in the country, so it is important for us as educators to understand why this is the case, and ways that we can help lessen the volatility of education funding. It is important to be very clear here, the state Legislature mainly fund operations of schools, school districts are still able to fund building through capital funds that they raise through local bond measures. Bonds for capital improvements fall outside of the Measures 5 & 50 laws.
The biggest change in Oregon Education funding came in 1990 with the passing of Measure 5. This measure changed the mechanism for education funding and limited the ability of local districts to fund schools separate from the state legislature. Understanding Measure 5 begins the story on Education funding in Oregon.
It is important to think about what the Oregon Legislature funds, and where these funds go to truly understand Oregon Education Funding.
When you add the different education components, Education funding makes up about 51% of the budget. So in any recession, education funding is unequivocally impacted since it makes up more that 50% of the state budget.
The image below illustrates the volatility of Oregon Revenue.
The image below illustrates the volatility of Oregon Revenue.
While this chart above shows revenue changes in Oregon, it doesn't give a complete picture. In addition to this high level of volatility in revenue, Oregon isn't often able to add back to the Education Budget significantly in good years because of the Kicker Law.
Below are some good resources for becoming conversant in Oregon Funding for Education.
Scott Bailey Summary
| oregon_education_funding.pdf |
Oregon Education Association (OEA) document
| long_journey_to_adequacy.pdf |
