Oregon ponders education costs

By JULIA SILVERMAN
The Associated Press

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The model drew on a state database to project just how much it would cost for schools to have smaller class sizes, specialists in key academic areas, up-to-date technology and extra help for struggling students — all measures aimed at getting students up to state standards.

But five years later, budget cuts have taken their toll on the state's public-school system, and some are questioning whether the blueprint is still relevant to the continuing debate over education funding in Oregon.

Previous model estimates have said such optimum schools could cost more than $6 billion. There's a big gap between that estimate and the $4.9 billion that schools wound up with after the 2003 legislative session.

"We simply don't have $6.1 billion to put into education right now," said Rep. Susan Morgan, R-Myrtle Creek, who heads a panel that analyzed school districts' spending needs during the 2003 session. "I think (the model) has a place in the discussion, but it is not the answer."

But supporters of the model say it has been unfairly tarred as a rationalization for simply funneling more money to schools. Instead, they say, the model is a tool to break down how schools are spending their money and where it can be better distributed.

Next month, members of the Quality Education Commission, a group charged with monitoring the model and updating it, will turn in a draft report to Gov. Ted Kulongoski. They'll also have to contend with how much more it might cost to fulfill the goals of the national No Child Left Behind Act, which mandates that 99 percent of students be at grade level in reading and math by 2014.

Copyright © 2004 The Seattle Times Company

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