Funding for K-12 public schools in Oregon is woefully inadequate, and has been for years. A formula funds school districts on a per-pupil basis. The goal is to provide even funding.

Jewell School District, however, has been operating in a different category. “For decades, the district has used logging revenue and not state money to fund its school budget, pumping it up beyond what other Oregon districts get from the state on a per-pupil basis,” Alex Baumhardt wrote in the Oregon Capital Chronicle.

“The $4.3 million budget is about $680,000 more than the district would get under the state education funding equalization formula,” Baumhardt wrote. Now the habitat conservation plan is being blamed for the devastation of Jewell’s budget.

Jewell’s response is to sue the Oregon Department of Forestry. “Jewell School District has paid $148,000 and owes $3,000 more to lawyer John DiLorenzo for his work on its lawsuit … The district does not have a ceiling for spending on the case, (Jewell School District Superintendent Cory) Pederson said,” Baumhardt wrote. Also, “the district has a $20 million investment fund …”

According to Anca Matica, spokesperson for Gov. Tina Kotek, “any school district that loses funding because of this would be compensated under the state education funding equalization formula,” Baumhardt wrote. “The formula, which takes into account enrollment … is used to fund all other schools in Oregon.”

The habitat conservation plan should be implemented, along with the governor’s intention to provide compensation to Jewell and any other school district that loses funding.

CHERYL JOHNSON

Astoria