News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
It’s a school holiday, but some Sisters Middle School students and their parents will be taking part in an active civics lesson on Monday, February 21.
They’ll load up on a bus at 8 a.m. in Sisters and head over Santiam Pass to Salem, descending on the Capitol with thousands of like-minded activists to demand more state funding for schools.
Sisters activist Merry Ann Moore said she expects about 50 people to turn out for the rally from Sisters.
At the core of that group is an approximately 10-person Legislative Action Team comprised of parents, school administrators and a school board member. The team plans to put pressure on the state legislature to boost state funding beyond the $5.0 billion proposed by Governor Ted Kulongoski.
“$5.4 billion is a ‘hold-harmless’ number,” Moore told The Nugget. In other words, Sisters schools need the budget to come in at at least $5.4 billion in order to maintain the level of staffing, number of school days, programs, etc. being offered in the school year.
The proposed $5.0 billion state budget would force more cuts in Sisters and across the state.
“That won’t even get us where we’ve been for the past two years,” Moore said. “We’ll be going backwards.”
“Where we’ve been” is already in a position. Staff positions were cut for this year and five days were lopped off the school calendar.
Even the resounding passage of another four years of a local option tax that brings in about $800,000 isn’t enough to put the Sisters School District ahead.
The district operates with a general fund budget of $8.78 million.
Local option represents a vital 10 percent of that budget.
It has kept programs afloat that would have sunk in red ink.
“We’re looking at that benefit being negated if the state doesn’t step up and fund schools adequately,” Moore said.
Moore and the local Sisters team are part of a larger statewide movement characterized by the activist group Stand for Children that is trying to put that same message across.
Some 1,500 to 2,000 people are expected to turn out for the rally on the Capitol steps.
Then each local group will carry plea for increased-funding to local representatives. The Sisters team has a meeting scheduled with Sen. Ben Westlund and with Rep. Gene Whisnant.
Jim Cornelius is editor in chief of The Nugget and author of “Warriors of the Wildlands: True Tales of the Frontier Partisans.” A history buff, he explores frontier history across three centuries and several continents on his podcast, The Frontier Partisans. For more information visit www.frontierpartisans.com.
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