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LETTERS IN THE EDITOR'S MAILBAG.

Article Excerpt
Byline: The Register-Guard

Give judiciary a shot at schools

In response to the Jan. 17 editorial regarding the possibility of litigation against the state for funding Oregon's public schools, we'd like to offer another opinion.

The Register-Guard is right that the Legislature can't conjure money for schools from thin air. We don't ask legislators to do magic, but rather to meet their duties. As Sen. Avel Gordly is fond of quoting, `The Legislative Assembly shall provide for raising revenue sufficiently to defray the expenses of the State for each fiscal year' (Oregon Constitution, Article IX, Section 2).

After more than a decade's worth of inadequate funding for schools, we believe the Legislature has failed to honor the constitution and its obligations to provide for all vital public services - in particular kindergarten through 12th-grade education. Due to the level of state funding (now 9 percent below the national average per child), communities like Eugene, Ashland and others have sought ways beyond what the Legislature has delivered to provide a high-quality education for their children.

The Eugene-Springfield area has been fortunate in electing legislators who not only talk about high-quality schools, but vote that way as well. Unfortunately, much of the rest of the state has not been so lucky, and we all suffer - our kids all suffer....

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