Governor backs bill to change Oregonstate school fund calculation, codify 49%/51% biennial split

The Oregon House Committee on Education opened a public hearing Jan. 27 on House Bill 2140, a measure that would change how the state calculates the current service level (CSL) for the State School Fund and place into law a practice of distributing state school fund dollars as 49% in the first year of a biennium and 51% in the second year. Governor Tina Kotek testified in support and described changes to the methodology intended to make K-12 funding more accurate and predictable.

The bill matters because the CSL is the baseline calculation lawmakers use to determine how much funding districts need to maintain existing services; small errors compounded over successive biennia, supporters said, have produced substantive forecasting gaps. "We need more predictability," said Governor Tina Kotek, who told the committee her office convened a work group that recommended methodology changes, including using a 10-year…