For the first time, Salem-Keizer Public Schools will create an agenda to lobby the Oregon Legislature on funding issues.
Superintendent Andrea Castañeda presented her proposed legislative agenda to the school board Tuesday night.
“As we think back on the year that we traveled through, it is easy for us to all remember how acutely state issues and specifically state funding issues affected our district,” Castañeda said.
Castañeda said she hopes the district’s legislative agenda will align with that of its workers’ unions, as well as with those of the Oregon School Boards Association and Confederation of Oregon School Administrators.
Her proposal includes the following elements:
Accurately calculating the cost of operating schools
In July, Gov. Tina Kotek released a proposal to increase the State School Fund’s current service level estimate for the 2025-27 biennium by $515 million.
The State School Fund provides the majority of funding for K-12 public schools. The current service level is the state’s estimate of the amount needed to continue existing programs.