Money for schools still up in the air in Salem

SALEM — Weeks before the 2007 legislative session, the state's highest-profile education advocates let it be known that they'd ask for nothing less than $6.3 billion for public schools over the next few years.

And with their Democratic allies now in control of both the House and Senate, and Gov. Ted Kulongoski on the record as saying that $6.3 billion was within reach, things seemed to be coming up roses for schools.

But on the heels of a flat March forecast of how much money will be available to spend in the 2007-2009 budget cycle, word is quietly circulating at the Capitol that the final figure for schools could fall short of $6.3 billion.

That funding level "is still the ideal," said Jim Sager, Kulongoski's education adviser.

"But the reality is setting in that the kind of growth we have been seeing, we are hitting a plateau," Sager said. "We're just having conversations with folks to say, well, let's keep that target there, but let's recognize the challenges we face."

Kulongoski's 2007-09 budget calls for a record $6.06 billion for schools in the next two years-- a 14 percent increase over current schools spending.

At the start of the year, the governor expressed optimism that state revenue would grow enough to enable him to boost spending on K-12 schools to $6.3 billion to cover rising costs and restore programs cut over the last few years.

But that was before state economists issued their latest revenue forecast.

Still, education advocates from the state's largest teachers' union to groups representing school boards and superintendents say they have no intention of easing the pressure on lawmakers to come up with the $6.3 billion.

That extra $300 million, they say, would go into a fund to pay for critical improvements. Districts could apply for money to hire more reading tutors for elementary students, reduce crowded class sizes or restart art, music and gym classes, for example.

A final revenue forecast in May could bring better economic news, they say, and lawmakers could tap dedicated funding for some state programs — like using lottery dollars to pay for an expansion of state trooper ranks — freeing more general fund money for schools.

School districts across the state, meanwhile, are trying to put together budgets for the 2007-2008 school year and are mainly hedging their bets.

Most are figuring that schools will get at least the base level of $6 billion in the governor's December budget, plus an extra $60 million deposited in a "school improvement fund" for programs like full-day kindergarten, reading tutors and smaller class sizes.

"If we assume that $6.3 billion is going to happen and we don't get it, then our only options are shorter days, program reductions or layoffs," said Craig Prewitt, a school board member in the Phoenix-Talent district. "We are basing our budget on the more conservative figure, and trying to stretch every dollar that we can."

Beth Gerot, a school board member from Eugene, concurred, saying that her district is outlining where it would invest the extra money should it materialize — but not counting on it.

Portland Superintendent Vicki Phillips, on the other hand, has proposed a budget based on the $6.3 billion figure, said the district's spokeswoman, Sarah Carlin Ames, on the theory that, "you can always underspend a budget. But if you haven't budgeted for the full amount, you can't spend more."

The final amount for schools may not be known until the waning days of the 2007 session. But Ed Dennis, a deputy state schools superintendent, said he'd been hearing from legislators that "we'd be fortunate to get to $6.15 billion."

That, Dennis said, is enough to return schools to the purchasing power they had before the recession that began in 2001, but not enough to make any new investments.

"The reality is that these folks can do more," Dennis said, of lawmakers. "We do know, it is natural, normal every single session to try and reduce expectations for certain things."

Sen. Vicki Walker, who's on the Joint Ways and Means Education subcommittee, said she still is "pretty confident that we will get somewhere between $6.2 and $6.3 billion."

"I think there is a willingness to make the investments that we need," the Eugene Democrat said.