$530M tax for schools, despite 9% less students (No on 26-246)

By In the news
In: Uncategorized
Wednesday May 8, 2024


By Taxpayers Association of Oregon
OregonWatchdog.com

Taxpayers Association of Oregon  urges NO on 26-246

 

Enrollment down, yet staffing is up?

 

  • Since the pandemic, PPS enrollment is down by 9.5%, but the number of employees increased 4.2%.

 

Cost per-student is higher than attending University of Oregon!

 

  • Since the pandemic, PPS spending per student on instruction and support has increased 34.2% to $17,800 per student. That’s more than the typical private school tuition. That’s more than tuition at the University of Oregon! Where is all the money going?  (Source: Tax Supervising Commission & Conservation data for 23/24)

 

The teacher strike hurt students

 

  • The teachers strike, criticized by Oregon Governor Tina Kotek and The Oregonian Editorial Board, kept nearly 45,000 students out of school for nearly an entire month. This followed on the heels of our once-in-a-century pandemic that put our students three years behind in schooling.

 

Teachers to make $100,000 a year

 

  • Because the district caved to teacher demands, over half of PPS teachers will soon make more than $100,000 a year. The Willamette Week reported, “The union negotiated about a 13.8% cumulative cost-of-living increase over the next three years that will catapult more than half of Portland Public Schools teachers over the $100,000 annual salary mark…” (11/26/23)

 

Fake graduation rates

 

  • PPS brags about increasing graduation rates, but that’s because Oregon students won’t have to prove basic mastery of reading, writing or math to graduate from high school until at least 2029 (Oregonian 10/22/24).  Simply put, Portland Public Schools handled Oregon’s nationally low graduation rate by lowering requirements in order to make the schools look better but it meant that our students were less educated and less prepared for the world.

 

Portland Public Schools should fix spending problems before asking for more money.

NO on Portland Ballot Measure 26-246

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