Oregon Lawmakers Push to Scrap the 27-Year-Old School Funding Model Over Weak Student Outcomes

Some lawmakers are ‘sick and tired’ of pouring huge amounts of money into the Oregon education system, with little to no satisfying outcomes at the end of every school year. Instead, they propose a new and streamlined system to replace the antiquated model that has been in operation for the last 27 years.

Democrats Rep. Ricki Ruiz (Gresham) and Sen. Janeen Sollman (Hillsboro), who serve on the Joint Public Education Appropriations Committee, want to bid farewell to the state’s 1999 quality education model.

They Call for a Nonpartisan Research Group to Develop a New Model

Instead, they want a nonpartisan research group to develop a new model of costing that must be updated every eight years. The model must incorporate the costs involved for the range of all 1,200-odd schools in the state. Ruiz and Sollman also want a reassessment of the current legal requirements that schools must meet to remain in compliance with state law.

Lawmakers are requesting the introduction of quantifiable targets by the State Board of Education.

The new metrics should include four-year graduation percentages, ninth-grade credit attainment rates, eighth-grade mathematics proficiency rates, third-grade reading proficiency rates, and regular school attendance rates.

Here are the most recent statewide baselines for the proposed school success targets.

The 1999 Model is Inaccurate and Fails to Consider Nearly $2 Billion Pumped Into Education by Business Taxes

The 1999 model sets estimates of the money needed from Oregon to achieve a 90% high school graduation rate.

However, legislative analysts say the hundreds of millions, or even billions of dollars forecast as needed by the existing model, are inaccurate. They claim that the model also fails to include nearly $2 billion in business tax used to support various public school initiatives.

The model also contains vague quantifying phrases, such as ‘providing students with the skills necessary to pursue learning throughout their lives in an ever-changing world.’  In practice, however, the interpretation of the legal requirements that schools must attain is left to the discretion of the state’s Board of Education.

Ruiz and Sollman propose that a new cost model should replace vaguely worded metrics with specific, measurable targets approved by the legislature.

Some Lawmakers are Skeptical  the Proposal Can be Dealt with in the Upcoming Short Legislative Session

Some lawmakers are skeptical that the Ruiz-Sollman proposal can be addressed during next month’s 35-day short legislative session. They argue that there will not be enough time to review the proposal, as most of the session will be focused on budgetary matters.

Last Thursday, Daily Tidings reported that Oregon has one of the worst rates of school absenteeism in the U.S. Data released by the House Interim Education Committee revealed that, on average, Oregon schoolchildren spend between 35 and 47 fewer days in class than students nationwide.

Chronic absenteeism, which reached a rate of 33% in the 2024-25 school year, continues to undermine student learning and graduation outcomes, with Oregon placed last compared to 27 other states in that school year.

A report by the Oregon Education Department states that attendance figures of ninth-graders are a better predictor of graduation rates than 8^th-grade test scores. It also contends that 6th-grade absenteeism is an early indicator that a student may drop out of high school.