School fund flap heats up race for treasurer
■The candidates for state
treasurer have differing
ideas on maintaining the
Common School Fund
By Josh Ryneal
Oregon Daily Emerald
All three candidates for the
position of state treasurer have
made a major issue of the Com
mon School Fund, which dis
tributes money to local school
districts, and Oregonians will
have the opportunity to decide
if a politician or an accountant
will manage it.
Jon Kvistad will run unop
posed in
the Re
publican
primary,
but Gary
Bruebak
er, deputy
state
treasurer,
and Rep.
Randall
Edwards,
D - P o r t -
land, will
run
against each other to face Kvis
tad in November.
The Oregon treasurer heads
the state’s treasury, which
serves as the central bank for
state funds, issues all state debt
and manages the state’s pension
fund. The treasurer also serves
on the State Lands Board with
the governor and secretary of
state to manage the Common
School Fund.
Kvistad, a Portland Metro
Councilor and president of
AKA Political Services who is
running unopposed in the Re
publican primary, said that he
would manage the fund pru
dently, helping it grow without
taking too much out of its capi
tal to give to schools.
“I am a big supporter of
schools, but I don’t wear that on
my sleeve,” he said. “A better
way to help schools would be to
hire more debt managers.”
Kvistad said debt managers
would help schools with the
“mountains” of paperwork and
“take the burden off of school
districts, keeping costs down
and making the bond process
more effective.”
Currently, school districts re
ceive 5 percent of the Common
School Fund’s total value, and
Kvistad said there was no rea
son to increase that percentage.
Giving schools the maximum
flexibility to direct and utilize
their funds would be a top pri
ority, he said.
Kvistad said that the treasur
er’s job is a technical one, but
not solely that of a money man
ager.
“We are not hiring money
managers, we are hiring some
one to manage the money man
agers,” he said.
Edwards, a small business
owner and state representative,
said that as chief state financial
officer, the treasurer has a re
sponsibility to ensure prudent
financial management.
“I have the background to
make sure that the Common
School Fund is managed prop
erly, while establishing long
term relationships between
school districts and treasurer’s
office to help find ways to use
bond meas
ures effec
tively,” he
said.
If elected,
Edwards
said that he
would im
plement a
plan to
match the
funds gener
ated by local
school bond
measures
with funds
from the
state. Rural
districts,
with their
lower tax
revenues,
would re
ceive more
money than
EDWARDS larger dis
tricts.
BRUEBAKER
Edwards
said that
“the techni
cians are al
ready in
place. What
we need is
someone
who can pro
vide leader
ship and
work with
the govern
ment and school districts.”
KVISTAD
“I have all the qualifications,
and [Bruebaker] doesn’t. This is
not a CPA job,” he said.
Bruebaker, the deputy state
treasurer, said that because he
has been involved with every
We are not hiring
money managers, we are
hiring someone to man
age the money man
agers.
Jon Kvistad
Republican candidate
for state treasurer
major policy decision the treas
ury has made in the past seven
years, he is well qualified to
keep the office running on an
even keel.
“The office has been running
the best it ever has under [Ore
gon Treasurer] Jim Hill, and I in
tend to continue the great job,”
he said.
He said that while he is not a
politician, he has 22 years of fi
nancial management experience
and has plans for helping
schools find more money.
“I’m committed to working
with the governor and superin
tendent of public instruction to
find a solution to school fund
ing,” he said.
Bruebaker also said that he
would help state agencies re
view cash flows and make their
accounts more efficient.
Partnerships with state and
local agencies, he said, would
help him find ways to improve
management of pension funds.
“I want to look for a lot of cre
ative ways to uSe partnerships
to save the taxpayers money,”
he said.
CRIME
WATCH
Reported May 2 through May 10:
May 2: Disorderly Conduct and Crim
inal Trespassing If, 1300 block West
Alder Street, subject was sitting in a
“ restricted area” and struggled
when police officers tried to move
him.
May 4: Theft II, 1400 block West Kin
caid Street, sign stolen from the
Campus Presbyterian Ministry.
May 5: Criminal Mischief II, 1500
block West Moss Street, Cyclone
fence knocked down.
May 5: Criminal Trespassing II, 1400
block West Moss Street.
May7: Criminal Mischief II, 1400
block West Moss Street, several male
students climbed onto roof of the
Bean East complex and broke a roof
latch, lamp post bulb and cover.
Crime tip of the week from OPS Offi
cer Bob Guse:
1. Watch your credit card state
ments. Make sure the charges a re
ones you made. If you find a discrep
ancy, quickly report them.
Source: OPS and Eugene Police Department
UO students
drinks
when they party
Data taken from 1998 UO Health Center Survey.
Office of Student Life