Issue Position: Education

Issue Position

During both my campaign and my service in the House, my constituents have repeatedly identified maintaining stable funding for K-12 education as a key priority.

Legislators entered the 2009 session facing rising unemployment, declining revenues, and the threat of cuts to many state services because of the global economic crisis. Throughout my first six months in Salem, I worked especially hard to make sure our schools would not bear the brunt of those cuts. While the final 2009-2011 K-12 budget of $6 billion does not meet every need, it will be enough to keep the school year intact around the state.

While the economic climate legislators faced in 2009 made it a struggle to merely provide adequate funding for our schools, I remain committed to ensuring that Oregon aspires to excellence in its system of K-12 education. My top education priorities for future sessions include providing the stable funding necessary to ensure a full school year and smaller class sizes in every district around the state and restoring the music, PE, and art classes lost during a decade of devastating cuts. I firmly believe that Oregon students deserve the opportunities a well-rounded education provides.

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