Which ballot measure helps children more?
“Kids First” attacks children’s programs and Higher Education; SAFE initiative maintains public funding
community colleges to the detriment
Don’t be misled: the so-
of higher education and other state
called “Education First” Initiative,
services is not fair nor is it the best
also called “Kids First,” raises no
solution for Oregon.”
new money for schools.
The initiative requires el
Instead, as leaders of organi
ementary and secondary schools and
zations representing tens of thousands
of Oregonians rec
ognize, it takes
away money—by
the millions — for
Ed First SAFE
other services
$1.5 billion
0
New Revenue
which support chil
dren and help edu
Cuts needed to
cate our youth.
balance
budget for:
The initia
0
-
K-14
schools 0
tive was recently
0
- All other programs -27%
given the go-ahead
bythestateSupreme
Court. Its principal
community colleges to receive fund
backer is the OregonEducation Associa
ing at no less than they are in this
tion — whose members will be aug
biennium. That amount must then be
mented by paid signature gatherers in an
increased for inflation and enrollment
attempt to get more than 89,000 signa
changes, while funding for all other
tures on petitions before July 8.
General Fund programs would be
From a practical standpoint,
the effort
into-the - forced to lower and lower levels.
The state’s General Fund
“Kids First” Initiative will hurt the
faces a shortfall of 14% in 1993-95,
campaign to defeat the Tieman/
but the Education First Initiative
Sizemore (PERS) Initiative.
would almost double this deficit for
“OPEU and other public em
state programs — to an astounding
ployee unions joined with OEA in the
27%.
A deficitofthis magnitude would
PERS Coalition to fight the threats to
cost
at
least 4,700 state jobs.
our retirement,” said OPEU/SEIU
Many groups oppose this ap
Local 503 President Dawn Morgan.
proach to funding public services.
“OEA’sapproachwithEducationFirst
As important as education is, they
will jeopardize our efforts in this coa
recognize that Oregon has many
lition struggle and hurt social services
people who need support—and that
and Higher Education that help young
children often need support outside
and old alike.”
the classroom in order to succeed
This initiative, if it makes it
with their studies.
on the November 8 ballot and is
“The Education First Initia
approved by the voters, diverts fund
tive
is
bad public policy,” said
ing from care for the mentally ill,
Charles
Vars of the League of Or
from children’s services, from as
egon Cities. “Our children need
sistance to the disabled, from senior
good education, safe communities,
services, from the courts, and other,
adequate housing, and human ser
services
creating more problems
vices. The League of Oregon Cities
than it solves.
cannot support an approach to redis
It doesn’t even put all of edu
tribute inadequate resources and
cation first. It leaves out Oregon’s
thereby limit critical services.”
four-year colleges and universities.
“Funding education at the
“When we talk about fund
expense of human services will not
ing for education, we need to in
help bring about the future that we
clude higher education in that dis
envision for our children,” said Alice
cussion,” said Robert Nosse of the
Pickard of United Seniors of Or
Oregon Student Lobby. “Funding
egon. “Students cannot learn if they
kindergarten through 12th grade and
Effects on State General Fund
Page 2
SAFE initiative helps children
including state programs for them
There is a better way to fund schools without devastating other
public programs supported by the state General Fund.
This initiative, called Solid Approach to Funding Education
(SAFE), also sets support for schools at 1993-95 levels, but does it from
property taxes rather than allowing 1990’s Measure 5 to become fully
implemented and making up the difference from the state General Fund,
as the Education First measure would.
The difference to the state General Fund is $L5 million which
costs state General Fund support to programs for human services, higher
education — an educational program that would be further devastated by
the Education First initiative— and corrections.
This initiative is sponsored by county commissioners from
eastern Oregon —3a part of the state that generally did not support
Measure 5 in 1990.
Specifically, what the measure would do is stop the reduction in
property taxes required by 1990’s Measure 5 at this year’s level, at $10
instead of dropping down to $5 per thousand of valuation.
Although 1990’s Ballot Measure 5 requires the state General
Fundrto replace money to schools lost by the measure only through
1995-96, this measure would make that duty permanent. Thus, the
^ontinuederosion of public support for schools would be* halted.
At the same time, state government budgets — at a cost of
thousands of jobs and hundreds of programs, many geared toward chil
dren and families — would not be eviscerated.
are homeless, hungry, or caring for
disabled or senior relatives as a re
sult of human services budget cuts.”
“Ironically, the Education
First Initiative will mean very deep
cuts must be made in human ser
vices,” said Robert Cantine of the
Association of Oregon Counties.
“This will harm the very children
who need help so they can be ready
to learn. Instead of this approach,
we should be seeking common ef
fort between schools and human ser
vices to insure that all the needs of
all children are ‘first’.”
This “Me First” approach
by OEA divides the people and or
ganizations who came together in
1990 in the Heart of Oregon Coali
tion because we recognized that we
needed to work together to protect
public services. OEA was one of die
public employee unions that formed
the PERS Coalition to fight raids on
the PERS fund and is now battling the
Tieman/Sizemore Initiative.
“The forces attacking any
one of us —- teachers, public em
ployees, or health care providers —
are really attacking us all,” said Ellen
Lowe of the Ecumenical Ministries
of Oregon. “The Education First
Initiative gives our opponents a
wedge to divide us one from the
other. We ought to be working to
gether to build understanding of the
interdependence of our spheres of in
terest that together form community.”
“You will recognize us and
the organizations with whom we are
associated as partners in seeking tax
reform and public policy strategies
that build community and reinforce
civility,” Gerald J. Bieberle, of the
Human Services Coalition of Or
egon, said in a letter to OEA Presi
dent Bruce Adams and Executive
Director Bob Crumpton. “The‘stand
with us’ theme has been a long-
guiding principle for us. We view
the Education First Initiative as a
disruption of this partnership.” .