June 1, 2006

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Oregon’s Constitution:

• Article VIII, Section 3 requires the Legislature to “provide by law for the establishment of a uniform and general system of Common schools.” ¹
• Article VIII, Section 8 requires the Legislature to appropriate in each biennium a sum of money “sufficient to ensure the state’s system of K-12 public education meets quality goals established by law.” ²
• Article VIII, Section 8 was added to the Constitution in November 2000 as Ballot Measure I and was passed in every one of Oregon’s 36 counties and statewide by a 2:1 margin. ³

Cost/Benefit to Oregon taxpayers:

• Each high school dropout costs Oregon taxpayers $8,460 per year on average. ⁴
• Nearly 80 percent of all prison inmates in Oregon are high school dropouts, at an average cost to taxpayers of more than $23,000 per inmate each year. ⁵
• A college graduate contributes $8,250 annually to the state coffers. ⁶

How Oregon compares:

• As of 2003-04 average administrative costs in Oregon’s school districts (district central administration plus school-level administration) statewide were 8 percent. ⁷
• Between 1990 and 1998, despite a flourishing economy, Oregon’s per pupil education funding dropped by 20%, when adjusted for inflation. ⁸
• In 2003 Oregon ranked 28th in per pupil K-12 funding among the 50 states and the District of Columbia, down from 16th in 1992. ⁹
• When measured as a percentage of the average personal income of the state’s citizens, Oregon’s national standing in support of schools dropped from 11th in 1992 to 34th by 2003. ¹⁰
• The 6.1% decline in Oregon’s K-12 funding per student between the 2002 and 2003 school years was the largest annual percentage decline measured by any state between 2002-2003, and the second largest year-to-year decline among the 50 states and the District of Columbia since 1989-90. ¹¹ In contrast, in 2002, Oregon ranked 6th nationally in terms of per-capita expenditures on its corrections system. ¹²
• Based on NAEP 2004 test results, only about one-third of Oregon’s 4th graders and 8th graders are proficient in math and reading. ¹³
• Recent assessment tests administered in Oregon reveal that only approximately one-half of the state’s 10th graders are “meeting standards” in reading, math and writing. ¹⁴
• As of 2002, the state’s 71 percent high school graduation rate ranked 32nd in the nation. ¹⁵
• With an average class size of 23.9 students, Oregon elementary school classrooms were the 2nd most crowded in the nation as of 2000. ¹⁶

1. Oregon Constitution, Article VIII, Section 3
2. Oregon Constitution, Article VIII, Section 8
3. ibid
4. Oregon Department of Education, 2004
5. ibid
6. ibid
7. Oregon Department of Education, Audited District Data, 2003-04
8. OR Legislative Council on the OR QEM, April 1999, www.ode.state.or.us/sfda/qualityed/docs/origqemreport.1999.pdf)
9. US Census Bureau, 1992, 2005
10. US Census Bureau, 2003
11. ECONorthwest, The Condition of K12 Education in Oregon, January 2005
12. National Education Association, June 2005
13. National Association of Educational Progress, 2004
14. Oregon Department of Education, OR Statewide Report Card, 2003-04
15. www.edweek.org/rc/states/oregon.html
16. ibid