|
Â
Came across this nice PowerPoint presentation from Michael Elliott, Â Â State School Fund Coordinator, Oregon Department of Education.
If you would like a better understanding of how and why we are where we are at with Education Funding here in Oregon, this just may help.
https://olis.leg.state.or.us/liz/2013R1/Downloads/CommitteeMeetingDocument/1966
And with President’s Day, please remember, comes another important way to advocate for better school funding. Write an e-mail to your state legislators … it is a quick and easy but important process … see details in this previous post:
https://www.sesptsa.org/featured/oregon-pta-virtual-lobbying-day-presidents-day-february-18-2013/
—
Funding educationAlso a recent Letter to the Editor in the Oregonian that gets to the point:Ed funding image
Oregon chief education officer Rudy Crew wants to “fix” our schools by changing their “educational architecture” and buying a lot of new technology (“Call for new ‘educational architecture’ in Oregon,” Feb. 11).
Our present model doesn’t serve students well, he says, completely ignoring the effects of years of inadequate funding on the schools we have. Remember the state’s Quality Education Model? In every biennium, the gap between what the QEM has established as resources needed and actual funding has grown. That gap was $1.64 billion in 2007-9 and is projected to be $2.44 billion in 2013-15. This reminds me of G.K. Chesterton’s words: “Christianity has not been tried and found wanting; it has been found difficult and not tried.”
In Oregon, stable, adequate and equitable funding has been found difficult and not tried. Instead, our leaders continue to take resources out of classrooms, spending scarce education dollars on bureaucracy, consultants, testing and expensive technology. Let’s focus on the basics: students and teachers working together in schools that are supported with the wherewithal for learning.
Until we try appropriately funded schools, we won’t know how effective they can be.
WENDY SWANSON
Southwest Portland
Swanson is an education instructor at Portland State University and has 31 years of elementary teaching experience in Oregon.
What should your email include?
Where to send the message:
If you want to find your legislator, here is a link you can follow where you just put in your address and it will list all of your representatives, nationally and in Oregon.  www.leg.state.or.us/findlegsltr/ , or go to the list below.
If that is too much of a hassle here are the legislators associated with each school address. You can use the school which is nearest to your home and you will most likely be okay.
Schools:
Sunnyside
Senator: Diane Rosenbaum    www.leg.state.or.us/rosenbaum
Representative: Jules Kopel Bailey     www.leg.state.or.us/bailey
==========
Example Email:
“My name is Scott Overton and I am an advocate for children and education. I am a member of the PTA at Grant HS and the father of two boys, Joe and Adam. I am interested in Oregon reinvesting in education and making sure that all children have access to a bright future. So I am asking you to make sure that the percentage of the state budget dedicated to education does not further decline and even increases with the result of a no cut budget for schools throughout Oregon. My children, Joe and Adam, are very different in how they learn. Joe can independently learn most material and does quite well in every class situation. But Adam is not so lucky. He requires extra time to understand his work and in second year Algebra he has 35 other students in his class which means the teacher cannot spend much time with him. Luckily the teacher has made herself available after hours to help students and Adam is taking advantage of this but I fear there are many in his class that are not able to come during lunch or after school because of responsibilities outside of school and they are not getting the time they need from the teacher to understand the concepts. The teacher should have fewer students so that she can attend to every student during the class period. Thank you, Representative Dembrow, for listening to my concern and for your service to our community. Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions or need further information. I am available to help make education work in Oregon.
Sincerely, Scott Overton
==================
Just one more way to get involved in School Funding and Advocacy in Oregon! Let me know if you have questions and keep an eye out in the SES Messenger for a new section all about this blog and Public Education Advocacy opportunities each week.
The Oregon Legislature is back in session, starting today, Monday, February 4, 2013. In case you haven’t yet heard,
…Gov. John Kitzhaber, a Democrat, put out a recommended budget that included two mandates for the legislature:
…Senate President Peter Courtney, D-Salem… and House of Representatives Minority Leader Mike McLane, R-Powell Butte… McLane both said the economy would be a top priority, as well as education funding… Make changes to Oregon’s criminal justice system and Public Employees Retirement System. He tied the savings to education funding in his proposed budget and told legislators to cut $1 billion from the state budget if they don’t pass the reform packages…For the full Salem Statement-Journal story from today’s edition, go online to: http://www.statesmanjournal.com/article/20130204/NEWS/302040005/Oregon-Legislature-begins-work-earnest?odyssey=mod|newswell|text|Home|p.
And from today’s Oregonian:
EDUCATION
As usual, most of the attention will be on money. Kitzhaber has proposed $6.15 billion for K-12 schools in 2013-15, an 8 percent increase from the current two-year budget. School advocates want more. Kitzhaber says he can deliver what he has proposed only if the Legislature approves controversial changes to the Public Employee Retirement System. He and his chief education officer, Rudy Crew, also will ask lawmakers to earmark $10 million to $120 million for four key initiatives — early childhood reading; science, math and engineering; advising to nudge students toward college; and recruiting, training and mentoring of teachers.
In the higher ed arena, Kitzhaber wants the Legislature to recast the power structure to create a new postsecondary board over universities, community colleges and state financial aid. University champions also want to permit some universities to create their own boards, independent of systemwide control.
Watch list:Â Kitzhaber and his handpicked education lieutenants, Crew and schools chief Rob Saxton, will make the case for their spending and governance changes. The Oregon Education Association, which was unhappy with the education package the governor helped push through last session, should never be counted out.
Politics:Â School boards, superintendents and the teachers union all are expected to oppose parts of Kitzhaber’s plans, instead advocating higher spending on schools and less earmarking of how that money can be spent. Democrats are looking at alternative ways to pump more money into schools.
You may want to keep an eye on The Oregonian’s Oregon Education section in Politics:Â http://www.oregonlive.com/education/
I will be posting most likely more frequently in the days and weeks to come with action items for those who may want to get involved in trying to increase funding for Oregon Schools. A few groups to watch or to check out for more information on the history of education funding in Oregon include:
Oregon Education Association
http://www.oregoned.org/stay-informed/school-funding/k-12-funding
Oregon Save our Schools
http://www.oregonsaveourschools.blogspot.com/
Our Portland, Our SchoolsÂ
http://www.ourportlandourschools.com/
Invest in Oregon’s Kids
http://investinorkids.wordpress.com/
Chalkboard Project
http://chalkboardproject.org/what-we-do/
Please feel free to email me at s2adi@msn.com if you have questions, see groups or events you would like me to post about and/or have suggestions or ideas for me.
Best always,
Sue Lyon-Myrick
Things are still pretty quiet on the Education Funding front here in Oregon but should warm up when the legislature starts their session. In the meantime, if you are interested in this topic, you may want to join State Representative Jules Bailey, and co-hosts Senator Diane Rosebaum and Carolyn Tomei for:
The Future of Public Education in Oregon
This Education Panel and Community Town Hall will include Special Guests:Â
Dr. Rudy Crew, Oregon’s Chief Education Officer,Â
Gwen Sullivan, Portland Teacher and President of the Portland Association of Teachers,Â
andÂ
Lisa Frack, public school parent and education advocate.Â
When: Thursday, January 24, 2013 at 6:00-8:00 PM
        *Submit questions beginning at 5:30 PM
Where: Vollum Lecture Hall at Reed College
          3203 SE Woodstock Blvd.
Parking: Â The best place to park is the east parking lot (just east of 36th Avenue on Woodstock Blvd.). The Vollum Lecture Hall is centrally located and can be found as #37 on the campus map here: Â Reed Campus Map.
| TELL CONGRESS IT’S TIME TO ACT: PASS MIDDLE CLASS TAX CUTS NOW AND ENSURE WEALTHIEST PAY THEIR FAIR SHARE |
With less than a month before middle class tax cuts expire, Congress has yet to act, as House Republicans hold the extension hostage while fighting for tax cuts for the wealthiest two percent. This week, Representative Tim Walz (D-MN) introduced a “discharge petition†that would force House leaders to bring a middle class tax cut bill to the House floor for an up or down vote. The petition, which needs 218 signatures, has been signed by most Democrats, but needs Republican signatures to reach the total needed and move forward.  See if your Representative has signed the petition.If Congress fails to act before the end of the year, a typical middle-class family of four will see its taxes rise by $2,200 starting in 2013. Extending middle class tax cuts for those making less than $250,000 a year would protect 98 percent of American families and 97 percent of small businesses.In addition to extending tax cuts for the middle class, Congress must also act quickly to stop the impending across-the-board cuts scheduled to go into effect on January 2. If these cuts go into effect, more than nine million students will lose critical education services, and nearly 80,000 education jobs could be lost.   Learn more.Take Action Today:
|
Hey folks. Thanks to everyone who has supported the bond with lawn signs and
making calls. We are having one more Sunnyside Phone Bank night for the bond on Monday, October 29th at   Bond Headquarters 1785 NE Sandy Blvd. from 5 – 8 pm. If you can make it, please let   Sue Lyon-Myrick  (s2adi@Msn.com) know to expect you and feel free to bring a friend!
OR
You can sign up today to be a Bond Visibility Captain! Select one of the locations and have 2-3 friends join you for one of two shifts.
Find more information at their Facebook page for this event at:Â https://www.facebook.com/events/271400716296617/
Hey folks. If you are interested in supporting the Bond and getting out in this gorgeous fall weather, have we got a deal for you!
With the amazing forecast for the next week or so, the bond campaign is focusing efforts on canvassing. This weekend,and all weekends, they are canvassing from 10 – 1 on Saturday and from 3 – 6 on Sunday.
Their location this weekend where they are meeting up to disperse into the neighborhood is Hamilton City Park in the SW next to Bridelmeyer School.
So if this is for you, get your walking shoes on!
———————————————————–
If you are feeling the need to advocate for Public Education but maybe from the comfort of your own home for now or at least not through canvassing door-to-door, the National Education Association is asking for your help to save education jobs:
Congress has left Washington, DC and won’t return until mid-November, when these critical issues will take center stage. Now is the time to make our voices heard. We need to tell Congress that education and other critical programs cannot continue to bear the brunt of deficit reduction. The choice is stark: Congress can protect students and their education, or it can continue to coddle the wealthiest two percent and corporations that ship jobs overseas.Don’t let them make the wrong choice!
Take Action Today:
• Tell Congress to take a balanced approach to deficit reduction and reject more cuts to education.
• See new state by state data on what the pending cuts would mean for students and educators where you live.
• Visit your Members of Congress when they are back home campaigning. Tell them to stop the cuts to education and to make sure the top two percent pay their fair share.
As you may know, activities in support of the Portland School District Bond are well underway. The Sunnyside PTSA has voted to support the bond and as such has committed to recruit volunteers to help with several phone banks between now and election day.
Like to talk on the phone? Not into canvassing door-to-door? We need YOU!Â
Phone bank volunteering is a great way to make a difference!
The bond is providing the space, the phone script, and the targeted list of folks to call. They will train you…and it’s very simple training. The type of phone banking we will be doing is easy, as it is to a list of Democrats, and you will  just talk with them briefly about the Bond to gauge their level of agreement.  If they are unsure, then we give them a few “bullet points”.  If they are totally supportive, we ask if we can place a yard sign at their property, and get their address.
The Sunnyside Phone Bank Night we currently need volunteers for (from 5-8 pm) is:
You can also sign up for another night to volunteer on your own. I ask that you just let me know so that I can keep track of how many volunteers from Sunnyside we have provided!
Stay tuned as there will likely be one more “official” SES night that I recruit callers for before election day! Thanks for all your help & support!
It may be the weekend, but there’s still work to be done. If you are interested in supporting the PPS School Bond, you can join Our Portland, Our Schools for their first door-
knocking walk of this election season! Â Should you choose to get involved, you will walk with other volunteers and let folks know about the school bond measure and why it matters for us, our kids, and our city.
There are 2 volunteer shifts this Saturday, September 15:Â
Southeast Portlanders: your meet-up spot is SE 26th and Franklin. Carole Onasch will have everything you need!
Northeast Portlanders: scoot over to NE 36th and Thompson at 10am or 1pm and Richard Gilliam will be there to help!
North Portlanders: meet at Columbia Park, corner of N. Russet and Chautauqua at 10am or 1pm. Hit up Miguel Lopez for details.
Southwest Portlanders: head to Lincoln High Schools track at 10am or 1pm, and look to Ben Eckstein for more info.
Take Action Today:
