Oregon
State Capitol
900
Court Street NE, S-323
Salem,
Oregon 97301
Oregon's
revenue shortfall: A better solution to balance the budget
Bruce Starr
The Oregonian
June 8, 2010
The latest state revenue forecast revealed
the reality that many of us have been warning about for more than two
years. State revenue projections have not kept pace with the feverish pace
of state spending, leaving a $577 million shortfall in this budget cycle.
The majority party wrote a budget last year that included a 15 percent
increase in total spending, despite skyrocketing unemployment and a bleak
economic picture. Now we're reaping the consequences of their wild oats.
The governor's solution to the shortfall
is to hastily slash 9 percent of every agency and program budget,
regardless of the importance or value of the service provided. That means
the Department of Administrative Services won't face a cut any deeper than
our local classrooms. It means the Department of Revenue won't be asked to
reduce any more than the prison system or our state police patrols. This
mindless "solution" that cuts teachers and school days rather
than bureaucracy and administration is a bad approach in my book.
I recently had the opportunity to visit
with a group of seventh-grade students at Neil Armstrong Middle School in
Forest Grove. It was clear they are concerned about the future of their
education and the fate of their most beloved teachers and classes in the
wake of what looks to be a $2.7 million cut to Forest Grove School
District. Also in my district and of grave concern to me is the Hillsboro
School District, which has announced that an additional $8.2 million cut
from its budget will force some school principals into part-time staff
members. When there are alternative solutions to putting our students in
this vulnerable situation, why aren't they explored to the fullest extent?
That's why I've taken action to call the
Legislature into emergency special session. Along with Democrat Bill
Morrisette, I set into motion a mechanism the Legislature can use to call
itself into a special session by a majority vote of both chambers. This is
our chance to cut the bureaucracy, waste and less-important services of
state government rather than classroom teachers and school days. A special
session would give the Legislature an opportunity to fulfill its
constitutionally mandated duty: create a balanced budget. It would also
give us a chance to make needed reductions to state spending with
precision, carefully prioritizing and protecting the services that matter
most to Oregonians. If we are successful in calling a special session, my
first priority will be protecting K-12 classroom budgets.
It may be the irresponsible budgeting of
the majority party that has put us in this mess, but I'm unwilling to make
our classrooms suffer as a result. Across-the-board cuts are draconian and
an irresponsible way to make needed reductions to state government. A
special session would give us the opportunity to do what we were elected to
do: balance the budget and protect the services that make the greatest
impact in our daily lives.
Bruce Starr, a Republican, represents
Hillsboro in the Oregon Senate.
http://www.oregonlive.com/opinion/index.ssf/2010/06/oregons_revenue_shortfall_a_be.html