Oregon Is 1 of the Worst States in USA for Young Kids' Education

I am so thankful I am not a kid anymore. Recalling the sordid memories of my collective grade school experiences makes my buns itch!

Teachers these days everywhere, but especially in Oregon and Washington, are dealing with steep budget crunches, staff shortages and reductions, increased needs for bilingual classroom education, and in some cases, dilapidating school buildings.

I am sure that Oregon parents of school-age kids will be concerned once they see the news that ranks the state as #44 for its Pre-K thru 12 education.

Ouch! I wonder why the ranking is so low?

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One media outlet spoke to some who believe Oregon is still recovering from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic classroom interruptions.

If you ask some of the Oregon residents, they seem to think that low funding of public schools is the root cause of its low ranking for kids’ education, so I did a little digging.

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WHERE DOES FUNDING FOR OREGON PUBLIC SCHOOLS COME FROM?

Funding for K-12 public schools in Oregon comes from the Common School Fund.

Whichever city has the most children in public school will get the most funding, so for Oregon, that would be Portland.

In 2023, Oregon received over $72 billion in funding for public schools. They received half of the lump sum in January 2023 and the remainder in July 2023.

Understanding the critical need for increased funding to improve K-12 public education, Oregon Department of State Lands announced in March of this year that the funding dollars has increased to around $74 billion in 2024.

The State of Oregon’s Legislative Policy and Research Office notes all funding for their K-12 public schools come from “the State School Fund, accounts created under the Student Success Act, grant programs, the Common School Fund, the Quality Education Commission, lottery bonds and Measure 98.”

I hope this generous funding will help our Oregon neighbors bump up their education rankings!