School Funding

Adopted 2000. Updated 2011.

While the League of Women Voters of Portland recognizes that the major responsibility for funding public schools has shifted to the state level, the League supports local measures when necessary to ensure quality education.

Therefore, the League supports:

• Using local taxes such as local property tax and business income taxes to augment the funding provided by the State.
• Using grants and other temporary funding for professional development, pilot projects, or for other one-time needs.
• Using a combination of local, state, federal or private sources of funding for special education for the gifted and physically, emotionally, and mentally challenged students.
• Allowing private funds to be raised in support of individual schools, provided those funds are shared across the district in an equitable and transparent manner.
• Tracking and making available to the public information in an understandable format, including class size, per-pupil expenditures, costs for educating special-needs students, or other cost data.
• Employing the services of a chief financial officer to provide strong, transparent fiscal leadership.
• Participation by local schools and their communities in budget discussions via site-based management.