July 28, 2010

Currently the budget for OUS is developed by the Board of Higher Education; the community college budget is developed by the State Board of Education; the K-12 distribution formula is set in statute; and the budgets for early childhood programs are developed through yet other disconnected process. These isolated education budgets move independently through the legislative process.

Funding is based largely on enrollment (not even on attendance). Therefore, the fiscal health of our schools, colleges and universities is related to the number of students enrolled, not on how well those students are served. This budgeting system – as well as the incentives within it – must be fundamentally changed if Oregon is to achieve its long-term educational objectives.

The innovation and advancement of education takes place at the district level in local schools. In exchange for increased accountability the state will provide important assistance to school districts including technical support and sharing successful models from other parts of the state. This will require the capacity to direct teachers and administrators to current research, curriculum, and data; to bring other forms of assistance into schools and classrooms, at the invitation of districts; and to centralize some of the services currently offered through Education Services Districts.

The central challenge facing Oregon today is to transform our economy into one that is strong, resilient, internationally competitive and insulated from the boom/bust cycles that have plagued us in the past. This will necessarily require similar transformational changes in a number of other major systems not just public education but also public finance, health care, energy, and community development.

Read more on my education plan.

http://www.johnkitzhaber.com/2010/07/28/reforming-education-budget-system/