[{"_1":2,"_88":-5,"_89":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,76],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},"mediaId",6626124,"mediaKeyId","2754387-e7321a2e5854cd6a3993d54b0069cb6b","parentId",2754387,"title","Parents and educators urge full K–12 funding, removal of special-education cap","audioSeconds",628,"startMs",1775720,"endMs",2404660,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=2754387-e7321a2e5854cd6a3993d54b0069cb6b&start=1775&end=2404","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2754387-e7321a2e5854cd6a3993d54b0069cb6b/thumbnail_1775720.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6626124/Oregon/Parents-and-educators-urge-full-K12-funding-removal-of-special-education-cap","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6626124-96982f2eb7adbb6b4e4cb5aa7594a132/orig.mp4?Expires=1770442734&Signature=YChdEA-U0FvfAjRa-lA-hUB-Fsx2hOF2f-9vmS6RX8x9E2GlRjPjhKhm~zCPrOGjovjORpTohHh6AJ8GNoCqTtWj3i8vz5JYgmjDrDB9l3qLenfCcuP6PJzsS7JkAsUL3qMhHIoZ8Yzz0Zgt-GF5JtrsUuLyq93OOQzNJzYdiS0RPJlZ9qdG2n06oIVX0iGMwSEYQOM9PROAVGIlrrjxm~H-fGLr5aaWx4WNfPyGEX-QCqz2aJGSHT-a3FkYtxzCUsf8ygsHb7m8pf2aI51WJP0TYFcyF3e14yHMnnEYYLS6rrpVzrScUCSBNTEoJR7dIYxosnkCbzAQFjLIUqpIdw__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","Oregon State Legislature","date","2025-03-22T00:00:00Z","article","Parents, educators and union representatives testified that the state's proposed K–12 funding level would leave school districts short of the resources they need to maintain staff and services.

\"Funding education means you don't have to put as much money into mental health, addiction, housing services,\" Suzanne Clark, a Gresham parent, told the committee. Clark described a recent shooting near her daughter's high school and said stronger investment in education is \"a pathway to success.\" She urged the committee to fund the state school fund at true current-service levels.

Megan Vidal, West Linn–Wilsonville School District board director, urged the committee to \"raise this antiquated special education cap and support fully funding our public schools at $11,360,000,000.\" She said the district's 14% special-education enrollment versus the 11% funding assumption produces a local $2,250,000 gap that would otherwise fund 17 teachers.

Angela Bonilla, president of the Portland Association of Teachers, urged revenue reform to fund the Quality Education Model, asked the legislature to \"remove the special education funding cap and add funds to support that increase,\" and called for pay parity for adjunct community college faculty and class-size bargaining.

Why it matters: Witnesses described classroom-level impacts — staff cuts, larger classes and program reductions — that they said would follow from underfunding. They called on Ways and Means to increase state investments, remove the special-education cap, and implement the Quality Education Model (QEM) recommendations.

Details: Speakers urged the committee to fund the state school fund above the governor's current-service proposal; specific figures cited by witnesses included $11,360,000,000 for the state school fund and requests to lift the special-education cap that currently assumes 11% funding. Witnesses also urged immediate action on student basic needs funding and class-size protections.

Ending: Advocates said they will continue to organize and press for higher K–12 investments as the budget process continues.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","Joint Committee On Ways and Means 03/22/2025 10:00 AM","oneSentenceSummary","Multiple parents, teachers and union leaders told Ways and Means that proposed K–12 funding levels fall short of the Quality Education Model and called for removing the special-education funding cap and making class size a mandatory bargaining subject.","taxTitle","Ways and Means, Joint, Committees, Legislative, Oregon","taxId",18413,"location","Oregon","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":77,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":78,"_41":79,"_43":80,"_45":81,"_47":82,"_49":83,"_51":84,"_53":85,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":86,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":87,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6626129,"Community colleges ask Ways and Means to protect funding, expand student basic-needs supports",6581,918765,7500000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2754387-e7321a2e5854cd6a3993d54b0069cb6b&start=918&end=7500","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2754387-e7321a2e5854cd6a3993d54b0069cb6b/thumbnail_918765.jpg","/articles/6626129/Oregon/Community-colleges-ask-Ways-and-Means-to-protect-funding-expand-student-basic-needs-supports","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6626129-b29549b5ee6a49a52155d72425121500/orig.mp4?Expires=1770442734&Signature=ZILhJm5q7cndv4piCAmSSmn37dsa3WYoez~he4Va6O4nJ8jSR969GSUCS6fzekjsmBksPj6ieHk25hSUDVCfn~hrOyTPxEUeQvIWfD2OCCUzIZfXclei1FCoDsjdlID6QVNwu3RRFPVX3Ckv-8NgVH1C8XsqsvgDDeGvRABi9TRYdhwywxNz~LldhKJH98jZe2PgYk7Ql9QymtlTekhEFd5uu3Wd2XrkgBpVFA7Q5MeSkxFyl8PxoBmE~3jSakFk3UUMVgWF8M6lxT8gZtAMJ8el2AEP16kf1CYKSS-dOxXXoR9wBhgV~ZiVr1o8zuxRNJ7nP4LK6quxfl9EMG974w__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Senators and representatives convening the Joint Committee on Ways and Means heard multiple community college leaders and trustees ask that the legislature preserve funding for community colleges and expand supports for student basic needs.

\"Our ask to you is that community colleges be funded at current service levels, which is the governor's proposed budget plus $60,000,000,\" Andrew Spear, vice president of the Mount Hood Community College Board of Education, told the committee. Spear traced rising tuition over decades and said the state's funding shortfall has shifted costs to students.

The request focused both on operating support and on programs that address students' basic needs. Tim Cook, president of Clackamas Community College, cited a campus survey showing 19% of students had been houseless at one point in the last year and more than 46% had experienced food insecurity. \"Maslow's hierarchy of basic needs — it's pretty difficult to learn when you're hungry or when you don't have a place to live,\" Cook said, and urged continued funding for benefit navigator programs and the student basic needs and workforce stabilization bills now in Ways and Means.

Speakers from other campuses and advocates reinforced those requests. Former state representative Jeff Reardon urged support for the community college support fund, as part of broader higher-education investments, and Megan Vidal, a Wilsonville school board director, told the committee that a gap in special-education funding already translates into lost staff and program cuts at her district and said increasing the special-education cap would fund additional teachers locally.

Why it matters: Community colleges enroll a large, diverse population of students, many older or working while studying; witnesses argued that keeping them affordable and restoring state support is central to workforce development and economic stability. Witnesses also warned that measurable student hardship — food and housing insecurity — reduces retention and completion rates.

Details and asks: Spear described a long-term shift in costs from state funding to tuition; Cook asked the committee to maintain funding for basic-needs navigators and workforce stabilization legislation (House Bills referenced by Cook: HB 382 and HB 3183). Reardon and other witnesses urged that the biennial budget include the community college support fund funding request noted by multiple speakers. Several witnesses asked for one-time and ongoing investments to avoid cuts that would be difficult to restore.

Ending: Committee co-chairs said the March framework does not include preemptive cuts and that written testimony could be submitted up to 48 hours after the hearing, and that they will consider the many requests as budget work continues.","Mount Hood and other community college leaders urged the Joint Ways and Means Committee to fund community colleges at current-service levels and preserve student basic-needs programs, noting tuition shifts costs to students and citing data on housing and food insecurity among students.","actionData","errors"]

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Parents and educators urge full K–12 funding, removal of special-education cap

Community colleges ask Ways and Means to protect funding, expand student basic-needs supports