1. United States
2. Ore.
3. Letter

I am writing to urge you to reject the proposed education budget cuts currently under consideration for the 2026 legislative session. The Oregon Legislature has requested 5% budget reduction scenarios from state agencies, and the resulting proposals would devastate Oregon's education system with $748,498,581 in reductions to K-12 programs and an additional $151,265,880 cut from community colleges. These cuts follow a troubling pattern. Programs like Outdoor School, Summer Learning, Measure 98 High School Success, and Student Success Act Grants would receive reduced funding in the current 2025-26 school year, then be eliminated entirely in 2026-27. This cliff effect prevents schools from planning effectively and abandons students mid-program. Measure 98 alone represents $200,000,000 that has proven effective in improving high school graduation rates. The State School Fund would lose $583,604,248, reducing per-pupil funding across all districts. Rural and underserved communities will be hit hardest, as they rely most heavily on state support and have fewer local resources to cushion the blow. Community college students face equally dire consequences. Oregon Promise would stop accepting new awards, denying approximately 17,500 students from the Class of 2026 the financial support they need. The Oregon Opportunity Grant, serving our most vulnerable students with $100,000,000 annually, would disappear in Year Two. Colleges anticipate tuition increases exceeding 10% and eliminating over 200 positions, making higher education less accessible precisely when we need a skilled workforce. The Oregon Educators Benefit Board faces 15% benefit reductions starting mid-year 2026, followed by another 15% reduction in 2027. This effectively cuts educator take-home pay through higher premiums and out-of-pocket costs, compounding the harm to families already stretched thin. I ask you to oppose these cuts and work with colleagues to identify revenue solutions that preserve educational opportunity for Oregon students. Our students deserve better than dismantled programs and disappearing support systems.