Oregonian goes BOLD: 1st ever front page editorial slams Strike, Kotek

By Taxpayers Association of Oregon
OregonWatchdog.com

We can’t remember when The Oregonian has ever run a political editorial on the front page of the newspaper.  The Sunday Oregonian (150,000 print) ran the editorial in a impassioned plea to get Portland student back into school while the Portland teacher strikes hits the second week.

The Editorial said, “Students need to return to classes now. We are breaking the habit of going to school and devaluing the importance of education. Already, a majority of Oregon elementary and middle-school kids fall short of reading and math proficiency levels, and the state continues to post mediocre graduation rates. Even more alarming, the number of kids marked chronically absent last year rose to 200,000 kids – 38% of public school students and almost twice the rate from pre-pandemic days. A strike that disconnects kids even more from their schools should be a five-alarm fire. When will adults match the rhetoric of valuing children with action?”

The Editorial made some positive marks for Governor Kotek but also some harsh criticism,  “…she has also shown an unwillingness to challenge her allies…But she has also failed to publicly push the teachers union to compromise in favor of a fiscally sustainable agreement – a significant message for both the union and the public to hear…The governor, who also serves as the state’s superintendent of public instruction, should be making it clear to her allies and the public that returning students to school is the No. 1 priority.” 

On lawmakers The Editorial said, “Legislators also have played a role in hampering agreement, if not outright prolonging this strike”

Read the whole Editorial here:

Here below is some of the Taxpayers Association of Oregon info-graphics on Oregon schools that we created:

Politicians dropped graduation requirements while blocking access to chart schools.

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Are government employees not being paid?  They got the best raises of any industry.

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Oregon State Government doubled in size in 10 years, yet Teachers are strike for nearly $300 million more.

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Kotek and Brown raised a lot of business taxes revenue over nearly a decade.  Why are schools saying they want more?

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