Poster identifies effects of school funding levels

OSBA and a number of educational partners have created a poster depicting how various levels of state education funding will affect students statewide.

Reminiscent of the highly successful “school bus poster” of 2013, this visual aid is being mailed out this week to districts statewide. It shows three different 2015-17 funding scenarios: an “Underfunded Schools” budget of $7.24 billion, a “Fragile Stability” budget of $7.5 billion, and an “Improvement Trajectory” budget of $7.88 billion. The poster identifies the highest budget figure as a commitment to “The Promise of Oregon.”

The state Legislature will decide how much to dedicate to the State School Fund over the next few months. With the exception of 2013, the last decade has seen a continuing downward trend in education funding as a proportion of the entire state budget.

The “Promise” campaign, which has already been endorsed by more than 85 school boards, aims to continue the momentum begun in 2013 toward adequately funding Oregon’s schools. To urge legislators to focus state resources on education, sign a petition here.