So...if they strip out the "sweetener" for Portland, does this mean that the PPS school board will no longer support the plan? I hope so.

Has there been any discussion of amending the Minnis bill to improve it along the lines that the Oregonian has suggested?

Is there any chance that our spineless Senate will have the fortitude to shoot down this plan?

Where is the Governor???

Steve Law, the Stateman Journal's excellent legislative reporter, had an earlier story today that appears to show that the School Boards Association support for Minnis' bill is a sleezy self-interest trade for bottling up a bill that will SAVE the state over $20 million a year in benefit costs by putting all Oregon school employees into one health insurance pool. But interestingly "the school boards association earns half of its operating funds by offering its own insurance pool."

There's more there...please read the story & then wonder who's interest the Oregon School Boards Association is really serving.

Oh you have to admire those with the courage of their convictions - like lemmings!

John Calhoun writes:

"I am impressed that the Republicans are so opposed to taxes that they won't allow any one to increase taxes, even if it is not for their district or voters."

You don't understand the half of it. Most of these same crazy Republicans are so down on tax, they won't even let people earn money to have taxes levied against - witness their support for rolling back the minimum wage! Everyone to the Poor House! (Exception to rule, Capital Gains taxes that affect the wealthy. Only the Rich may eat Cake!)

When will they ever get a clue that taxes and government are the glue that holds our society together, and when you take away the glue, you get some very costly problems as a result.

Frankly, John, et al, its even simpler than that. Its the same reason they forced Fish and Wildlife to move to Salem. Portland is evil as far as a lot of people (read: Tom Butler, Greg Smith among others) and anything that benefits Portland over the rest of the state is therefore bad. They see the government as too "Portland-centric" and that Portland reps don't "understand" Central/Eastern OR (see SB 389).

Therefore, since the amendment was about Portland, screw the bill.

Easy there Bob! No need to exacerbate the urban/rural divide here.

Minnis' last-minute amendment does Portland no favors. Quoting the referenced Salem SJ article, it "would allow Portland to raise $75 million in [property] taxes over five years, without voter approval." No one could really believe that the school district would prosper by making a deal that would force a property tax increase on District citizens without consulting them. I can't believe she thought the House R's could swallow that!

"No one could really believe that the school district would prosper by making a deal that would force a property tax increase on District citizens without consulting them. I can't believe she thought the House R's could swallow that!"

That is exactly what happened. But that would explain why an organization that is supposed to be representing the very school boards that are largely opposed to this scam, would be pushing like no tomorrow to ram this down the throats of Oregon parents and children.

But then again, this is a plan based upon a source of funding that is so stable it took five, count 'em, five special sessions in 2002 in order to deal with it.

It's all in the logic, or in this case, the lack thereof.

BTW Where is our Governor? The silence is deafening.

Hum? If Rep. Minnis wants to fix the funding for PPS she need only fix the spending so as to require that all district costs pertaining to employment be considered completely and totally satisfied within a given budget cycle. Thus ending all future PERB demands, surprise surprise surprise demands, for topping off pension costs that everybody pretends are unmeasurable today.

If it is measurable today then bloody measure it today and bargain today or forever hold your peace. If there is disagreement about whether it is enough then by all means strike or lockout or whatever else must be done, but do it all within a given budget cycle.

The big game of pretend, and tippy toe, we continue to play with decisions today that cause tomorrow's budget blowup from PERS is just like . . . just like . . . right out of Ronald Reagan's budgetary play book. David Stockman noted, in his book, the use of the "magic asterisk" to deal with unidentified future budget cuts. For Oregon appropriations we just keep accumulating more and more PERS claims upon future appropriations in future years. It is our "magic asterisk" because we continue to pretend that PERS is sound, prospectively, and at the same time keep piling on more unsoundness to be resolved tomorrow.

As to Portland Public Schools, I'll get my wording together for a little petition to submit to the Tax Supervising and Conservation Commission so as to square up the budgetary resources and the expenditures for the next school year. I will crack open the two year CBA between PAT and PPS and splay it out as a violation of the Local Budget Law because the PPS folks choose not to ask for a Local Option Levy in March.

The PPS folks know their CBA deal is dead already. They have got to get the money that they do not have, and did not have, at the time they did their budget. It is simple really. You cannot promise to spend more than you have.

Then again, I might get bored and move on to something else.