~HOW MANY IMPOSSIBLE THINGS CAN YOU BELIEVE BEFORE BREAKFAST?~

The human brain is a wonderful thing. It can persuade itself to believe any number of unbelievable and false things before breakfast, and then use the rest of the day to convince itself these things are true.

The Republican leadership of the House has performed a similar feat. They believe that a state school fund of $4.9 billion will provide a quality education for our children over the next two years. The fact is that nearly all the schools in the state, including schools in Central Lane and Linn Counties, will have to cut their programs for kids if the budget falls that low. In fact, to meet the Quality Education Model (QEM) the state's schools would require $2 billion more, or $6.9 billion, according to The Quality Education Commission.

-What is a quality education?- In 1997, the state determined what a good education should be in its Quality Education Model (QEM). This model was to represent the goals in education toward which the state should strive. The Quality Education Commission developed a hypothetical elementary, middle and high school and determined the cost expanded across the state.

What does this mean locally?

These are big numbers, $4.9 billion, $6.9 billion; what does all this mean for the schools in Central Lane and Linn Counties? I wanted to find out, so I sent e-mails to school districts in my legislative district asking them what these numbers would mean for their bottom line. I got many startling responses. Here are the details (in alphabetical order):

-Central Linn-

The April 2003 State and Local Funding Reduction Impact Forecast for Linn County states that after the failure of Measure 28, that the Central Linn School District was forced to:

• Cut an additional 5 days of school
• Lay off 1.5 High School Agriculture Teachers
• Lay off A Business Teacher
• Lay off ½ a Full-Time Art Teacher
• Lay off a ½ Time Bus Mechanic
• Cut 20% of Custodial hours
• Not purchase any new supplies
• Increase pay-for-play athletic fees.

If the budget were set at $4.9 billion for the next biennium, the superintendent has informed me that they would be forced to lay off an additional 25% staff reduction on top of the current cuts.

-Creswell-

I received an e-mail from the Creswell School District Superintendent, Dr. Rick Stuber, explaining that as it is next year, the district will have:

• No music instructors
• One librarian for three libraries
• No elementary PE teacher
• Over 30 students in every elementary classroom
• Almost no electives in Middle School
• A High School Program that the Superintendent has informed me may not be able to provide enough credits to meet graduation requirements

He went on to explain that if the state appropriates $4.9 billion the district will need to cut 3-4 staff. Any lower than that, and he explained that the district would basically be unable to provide a viable program.

-Eugene-

The Eugene School District can only break even with the very bad year that just ended with a state school fund of $5.1 billion. That is true even with their huge advantage over the other districts because they will receive local option money and funds from the city levy.

At $4.9 billion, the Eugene School District will have large class sizes, a shorter school year, fewer schools, or a collection of all three

-Lebanon-

The Lebanon school district informed me in an e-mail that they would need an additional $3.12 million over their current projection to maintain the same levels of operation they had before they were forced to make cuts this year.

They informed me that under a state appropriation of $4.8 billion for schools statewide, Lebanon has already had to make dramatic cuts. They have already

• Lost all of their elementary specialists
• Cut High School Staff from 60 to 47
• Increased class size to over 30 kids in most areas. (There are no classes anywhere in the district that have fewer than 25 kids; even in kindergarten)

If the Republican leadership passes the $4.9 billion school budget, Lebanon will not be much better off, and not much closer to restoring prior levels of operation.

-Pleasant Hill-

I received a letter from the Pleasant Hill Schools District Superintendent, Jerry Fritts which explained that if the state gives only $4.9 billion to schools, the Pleasant Hill School District will cut$1 million from its budget. This means that, among other cuts, they will have to:

• Not replace 3 teachers who have retired
• Not adopt the most recent version of Science and Health Textbooks
• Reduce 1 and a third full time positions
• Lay off a custodian
• Add 2 unpaid school days
• Eliminate a secretary
• Lay off 2 full-time educational assistants
• Lay off of a half-time counselor.

-Springfield-

If the state gives only $4.9 billion to schools, I have been informed in an e-mail that Springfield will be unable to rehire 20 teaching positions that were eliminated. This means that class sizes will increase, and program offerings will decrease.

At $4.9 billion, the supplies budget will also undoubtedly be reduced, so that teachers will buy basic teaching supplies from their own pockets or have their students do without.

-The Bottom Line-

If the House Republican leaders pass their school budget, every district in Central Lane and Linn Counties will be affected.

Let me be blunt: the Republican leadership is living a fantasy if they think that the money they are proposing for our schools will adequately fund our kids' schools and the QEM. It's simply nonsense. It flies in the face of the facts, and in the face of what the schools in Central Lane and Linn Counties are telling me.

The Republican leaders cannot make $4.9 billion an adequate amount for the school funding by simply believing it "before breakfast."

I expect the negotiations to be long and hard. I continue to do my job of proposing an adequate budget for our school and separating fact from fantasy. A reasonable compromise budget that will allow schools to restore the worst cuts they have already made is about $6 billion. This is still $900 million short of what the state should appropriate for a quality education.

Regardless, the fantasy life of the House Republican Leaders must not be imposed on the children of Oregon.