Image provided by: SEIU Local 503; Salem, OR
About The Oregon public employe. (Salem, Oregon) 1981-???? | View Entire Issue (April 1, 2002)
A ra fa t' 4/ Education Without knowing it was up for sale, the Oregon Institute of Technology has found a bidder. n Corvallis, O SU Local 83 m em bers and leaders w ere faced w ith budget short falls, audit problem s and a complicated "rede sign" of the university. As of now, some staff have been laid off, bu t the "red esig n" has been halted and budget problem s have largely been p ut off until next year. In K lam ath Falls, D ick Wendt, w ho has successfully sponsored legislation to take p u b lic / assistance checks aw ay from the individual due them and give them to businesses w ho hire them , is now dangling $100 m illion in front o f O IT officials if the state school w ill becom e a private school. The school and the H igher Education system has not decided whether, or under w hat I terms, to accept the offer Students, faculty, the members and leaders Of O IT Local 090 and the com m unity at large have offered considerable constructive criticism of the proposal and w ill coritinue to participate and to influence the outcome. SE IU Local 503, O PEU President K ath ie Best, on leave from O IT 's business office w hile she is statew ide president, said "A quality, affordable higher education should be an im portant priority of this state. Unfortunately, w e've been m oving the opposite direction, especially since the passage of Ballot M easure 5.in 1990; it is becom ing m ore and m ore difficult for m any qualified young people and their fam ilies in Oregon to afford a four-year college degree." "T h e proposal from Dick Wendt, to m ake O IT a~ private institution, takes us further in the w rong direction, to judge by the high tuition charged by private colleges and u n iversities," she said. O IT 's technical and liberal arts curriculum has served the resid en ts o f Lake and K lam ath counties, as w ell as the state, w ell. It has contributed to the life of the comm unity. Before the Oregon U niversity System g iv e s aw a y O IT , it sh o u ld b e m o re forthcom ing about the details and the im pact of the deal. So far, its has given the public, students, staff and faculty alm ost none. It should give the sam e consid eration to tire public it is giving to one w ealthy individual. Voter Education Project Last December the streets of Oregon were fall of more than Christmas shoppers. Ballot initiative circulators cruised the crowds for signatures. But they weren't alone. Joining them this year were members of the Voter - Education Project. The new project is a non-profit organiza tion supported by SEIU Local 503, OPEU and others and headed by political veteran Jeannie Berg. After years of working on initiatives, she says that paying signature gatherers (or "dealers" as she calls them) by the bounty system as some campaigns do has had a corruptive effect on Oregon politics. "Think about it," she says. "A signature dealer gets money every time you sign. That's a high temptation for fraud." Because of that and the harmful effect many initiatives have on public policy and public services, the Voter Education Project is "Think Before You Ink." r The Voter Education Project will be on the streets through the signature-gathering season that ends in July 2002. Already this election, the Oregon Depart ment of Justice has pursued two cases of electionfraud committed by signature dealers, thanks in part to complaints filed by Votejr Education Project. The first resulted in the prosecution of Paul Frankel, an Alabama man who used a "bait and switch" technique to entice signatures on initiatives that voters * The public, all Oregonians, own OIT. O th e r im p o rta n t q u estio n s need answers before this deal goes any further: • What is the impact of this deal to the students, the faculty, the public in southern Oregon and throughout the state? Will OIT's students, who largely are working and middle class and largely come from Klamath and Lake counties, still be able to afford the tuition if the institution becomes private? • V alu ab le p u b lic p ro p erty is b ein g p ro p o sed to b e tra n sfe rre d to p riv a te ownership. Why? Under what conditions? Is it a good business deal for the state? • We haven't been told why it is necessary for the school to become private to receive this gift. Wealthy individuals and corporations have for years made generous gifts to all the schools in the state system without dictating the terms to this extent. • Is it appropriate for one wealthy citizen to dictate public policy to such a great extent? So many people have invested a great deal in OIT over the years. Are their contributions going to be cast aside to satisfy the demands of one person? A t Oregon State University in Corvallis, m eanw hile, a plan for "red esign" has been quietly closed. O SU L o cal 83 m em b ers and lea d ers repeatedly challenged the numerous problems th ey fo u n d in t h e s c h o o l ' s b u d g e t a n d "redesign." plans. In October 2001, OSU announced a $19.1 million budget shortfall and plans to redesign the university. Since then, 34 employees have been laid off and 120 positions w ill rem ain unfilled. Earlier this w inter it shelved the "redesign" plans but m ust continue to w ork on filling the budget hole. The 2002 shortfall was. closed in part by moving some expenses to next year where a $12.7 million problem awaits. • hadn't even read. Frankel also forged the signa ture of a Department of Justice investigator on initiatives that were found in the office of Bill Sizemore, executive director of Oregon Taxpay- ; ers United. In December the AG's office also issued a warrant for the arrest of James Gurga, who worked With Frankel. "Elections law violations and the placing of fraudulent signatures on petitions are very personal violations of Oregon's democratic process," says Attorney General Hardy Myers. The Voter Education Project needs your help," When you see a paid signature dealer anywhere in Oregon, call (800) 295-5597 so someone can be sent to the scene. For more information on how to protect yourself from fraud, go to www.votereducationproject.org T H E OREGON PUBLIC EM PLO YEE PAGE 2 5
