FROM PAGE ONE
TUESDAY, AUGUST 9, 2022
THE OBSERVER — A3
SPENDING
Continued from Page A1
state and local funds toward main-
taining or increasing levels of
funding,” Kelsey Kunkle, co-au-
thor of the report said during the
Hunt Institute talk.
“But it’s also really important
to give this fi nding within the
context that most states still hav-
en’t fully recovered from the 2001
and 2008 recessions.”
Less than a decade ago,
Oregon ranked among the bottom
of states for per-student spending
in higher education, after some
of the steepest budget cuts in
the country following the Great
Recession.
The state has since made a
57% increase in higher education
spending per student, eclipsing
pre-2008 recession funding levels,
Cannon said. The latest report
ranks Oregon 36th for per-student
funding. State legislators have
been upping the funding to higher
education over the past several
budget cycles.
Cannon says lawmakers are
paying attention to workforce
needs and the state’s depen-
dence on college programs to
provide the degrees and certif-
icates to equip students for the
job market.
He’s also seen increased con-
cern about equity, and the fact
that low income students, rural
students and students of color
don’t see the same college com-
pletion rates as their more advan-
taged peers.
Despite increases in state
funding, Oregon students still
pay an outsized share of college
revenue.
Across the country, student
tuition makes up about 42%
of higher education revenue,
roughly double the contribution
that tuition provided in 1980.
The Observer, File
Despite a 57% increase in per-student funding over the past decade, Oregon still lags behind the national average in public dollars spent on higher education. Pictured
here is Inlow Hall on the campus of Eastern Oregon University.
But Oregon is among 20
states where tuition dollars actu-
ally make up the majority of rev-
enue. In 2021, tuition dollars
made up 54% of revenue at Ore-
gon’s public colleges and uni-
versities. This is down from the
nearly 64% that Oregon stu-
dents shouldered in 2015, but far
higher than the percentage of
revenue that students contribute
in neighboring states. Only 35%
of Washington’s higher educa-
tion revenue and 20% of Califor-
nia’s revenue come from tuition.
Students studying at Oregon’s
public universities contribute to
a greater share of school revenue
than those at community college,
which lean more heavily on state
appropriations. Tuition revenue
makes up about 23% of revenue
at community colleges, and 69%
at four-year schools.
MAP
Continued from Page A1
Photos by Dick Mason/The Observer
Retired Major Gen. Dennis Klein speaks at a National Guard Seven
Seals Award ceremony on Saturday, Aug. 6, 2022.
The Seven Seals Award Ceremony was coordinated by Jack Johnson,
chair of Area Six of the Oregon Committee of Employer Support
of the Guard and Reserve, an agency within the Department of
Defense. Johnson is shown speaking at the ceremony on Saturday,
Aug. 6, 2022.
HONOR
Continued from Page A1
“We want them to see
what their employees do on
weekends.”
He said it is important
to never forget the vital role
employers play in the suc-
cess of National Guard mis-
sions, along with families
and the National Guard
itself.
“A citizen soldier’s
employer is one of three pil-
lars that mutually support
their service to their state
and nation, and without the
sacrifi ces and support of
those employers the mis-
sions’ successes would not
be possible,’’ Musgrove
said.
The Seven Seals award
also recognizes the steps the
3-116th takes to communi-
cate with employers with
regard to upcoming mis-
sions so that they can have
time to plan for extended
absences of their employees
serving in the National
Guard.
“We work hard at
opening lines of communi-
cation,” Musgrove said.
Musgrove said 400 sol-
diers have been called out
on assignments over the
past two years to assist
with fi ghting wildfi res,
protest violence in Port-
land, COVID-19 vaccina-
tion programs and health
care providers treating
COVID-19 patients in
hospitals.
“These statewide mis-
sions required soldiers to
mobilize at a moment’s
notice, before leaving their
families and employers,” he
said.
The Seven Seals Award
derives its name from the
fact the there are seven
reserve components in the
U.S. Armed Forces and each
has its own seal.
The Aug. 6 award cere-
mony was coordinated by
Jack Johnson, chair of Area
Six of the Oregon Com-
mittee of Employer Support
of the Guard and Reserve,
which is an agency within
the Department of Defense.
La GRANDE AUTO REPAIR
975-2000
www.lagrandeautorepair.com
MOST ADVANCED TECHNOLOGY
AVAILABLE
Joe Horst
ACDelcoTSS
dled well. This not only put
the cart before the horse,
he said, it raised the wor-
ries of lots of people.
“My phone was ringing
off the hook, and the
emails,” Hansell said,
after the state put the
map online. Lawmakers
were aware the state was
working on the map, he
said, but the process did
not include public input
that he was aware of.
Union County Commis-
sioner Paul Anderes is glad
the decision to revise the
map was made.
“I’m glad that they are
going to revisit it,’’ he said.
The commissioner said
Union County has received
assurances from the state
that local input will be
taken the second-time
around.
Anderes said that little
if any local input was taken
when the fi rst risk map was
being created.
Anderes said he hopes
that Union County Planner
Scott Hartell and Emer-
gency Service Manager
Nick Vora will be given an
opportunity to be involved
in the process of creating
the Union County por-
tion of the map. Anderes
said their fi rsthand under-
Oregon also comes up short
when it comes to providing state
fi nancial aid for students. Finan-
wcial aid allocations in 2021
amounted to $574 per full-time
student, compared to the national
average of $921, according to
the report. Washington allocated
more than three times as much
as Oregon in fi nancial aid per
full-time student, at over $1,900
in 2021.
standing of the fi re risk in
Union County and land-use
planning would be a big
help in the map creation
process.
The map was part of a
$220 million bill — Senate
Bill 762 — passed last
year to prepare Oregon
for worsening, climate
change-fueled wildfi res.
“The bill was supposed
to be helpful but it has not
been so far,” said Union
County Commissioner
Matt Scarfo, who added
the intent of SB 762 was to
reduce fi re risk but it has
not so far had that impact.
“Raising insurance rates
and lowering property
values does not reduce fi re
risk,” he said.
Vora said the intent of
scientists would refi ne the
the bill was good, but the
map and reissue a new ver-
problems it has caused
sion at a later date.
“While we met the bill’s
were not expected.
initial deadline for deliv-
“There have been unin-
ering on the map, there
tended consequences,” he
wasn’t enough time to
said.
allow for the type of local
Oregon State Forester
outreach and engagement
Cal Mukumoto said in a
that people wanted, needed
statement his agency got
and deserved,” Oregon
specifi c feedback from
2,000 residents about prob- State Forester Cal Muku-
moto said in a statement.
lems with the risk desig-
“We know how
nations that were assigned
important it is to get this
by the Oregon Explorer
- Page
1 - Composite
right.”
project and 2x1EOMediaFiller
said climate
GRH Union Clinic
GRH Regional Medical Clinic
GRH Elgin Clinic
Call 541-663-3138
Wednesday 8-3-22
Monday 8-8-22
Wednesday 8-17-22
The most valuable and
respected source of local news,
advertising and information for
our communities.
www.eomediagroup.com
Summer
GRH Children’s Clinic
Call 541-663-3150
Wednesday 8-17-22
Friday 8-19-22
Monday 9-12-22
“Students in Oregon continue
to pay higher than average price
tags to access college and uni-
versity, incurring greater than
average debt loads,” Cannon
said. “We have a lot of work
to do to expand the benefi ts of
postsecondary education more
broadly and equitably, and I
think that should be a real call
to action for Oregonians and
Oregon policy makers.”
Call 541-562-6180
Wednesday 8-10-22
Wednesday 9-21-22
Call 541-437-2273
Wednesday 8-10-22
Thursday 8-11-22
Friday 9-9-22
Before you suit up:
Get checked out !!
— FREE —
GRH Sports
Physicals !
College students? Find out about sports physicals for the
discounted fee of $50! Call one of these clinics today!
Find out more about all we do at grh.org
Grande Ronde Hospital & Clinics—an independent, 501(c)3 not-for-profit health system since 1907