72nd OREGON LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY--2003 Regular Session
 
HMRA to HM 4
 
LC 2158/HM 4-MR2
 
                      HOUSE MINORITY REPORT
                          AMENDMENTS TO
                        HOUSE MEMORIAL 4
 
                            April 23
 
Speaker Minnis:
  A minority of your Committee on General Government, to whom was
referred House Memorial 4, having had the same under
consideration, respectfully reports it back with the
recommendation that it be adopted with the following amendments:
 
  Delete lines 6 through 19 of the printed memorial and insert:
  ' Whereas, as Governor Kulongoski has declared, putting our
children first is both an economic imperative and a moral
necessity; and
  ' Whereas a strong educational system is vital to a strong
economy; and
  ' Whereas Congress originally expected the federal government
to pay up to 40 percent of a state's cost of implementing the
Individuals With Disabilities Education Act, but the federal
government covers only 14 percent of the State of Oregon's costs;
and
  ' Whereas funding the federal No Child Left Behind Act at the
levels originally proposed would benefit Oregon's students by an
additional $60 million; and
  ' Whereas with these laws, the federal government has imposed
what amount to unfunded educational mandates on the states; and
  ' Whereas the ongoing recession has forced the State of Oregon
to impose steep cuts in its support of public education, having
required local school districts to reduce spending for
kindergarten through grade 12 education by more than $500 million
over the past year; and
  ' Whereas these cuts have resulted in larger class sizes,
layoffs of teachers and other staff, curtailment of
extracurricular activities and other programs, cuts in valuable
curriculum and a shorter school year; and
  ' Whereas Oregon has begun to lose teachers to states where
school budgets are more stable; and
  ' Whereas economic recovery and development depend upon a ready
workforce that possesses the skills and education to handle the
jobs of the 21st Century; and
  ' Whereas we cannot expect to achieve and maintain prosperity
if we shortchange secondary and post-secondary education; now,
therefore,'.
  In line 21, after 'to' delete the rest of the line and delete
line 22 and insert 'give education the highest priority,
recognizing that no nation can claim to make itself safe from any
foe, foreign or domestic, if it fails to pursue the highest
educational standards and thereby ensure the capability and
readiness of citizens to cope with the economic, social,
environmental and political challenges of this century.'.
 
                         /sFloyd Prozanski
                           Representative
 
                         /sKelley Wirth
                           Representative
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