Just about everywhere you look, the funding model for public education is broken. School districts are dealing with escalating costs in the face of devastating budget cuts. This cannot stand; too much is at stake.
The current lack of funding affects all families, but it is especially hard on the 160,000 Oregon children living in poverty. For them, school can be a refuge, and education is their ticket to a better life. Financial trends are taking them — and all of our school districts — in the wrong direction.