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Bill would direct LPRO to study aligning state school funding with local costs
Summary
House Bill 4050 would direct the Legislative Policy and Research Office to study how other jurisdictions align state K‑12 funding with local education provider costs, including statewide salary bargaining and pension funding approaches; sponsors and task‑force members urged further research rather than immediate action.
House Bill 4050 would direct the Legislative Policy and Research Office (LPRO) to study processes in other jurisdictions that align state education funding with local K‑12 cost drivers and to submit a report by Nov. 15, 2026. The measure declares an emergency and would take effect on passage, LPRO staff told the House Committee on Education during a Feb. 9 public hearing.
Representative Emily McIntyre, sponsor of HB 4050, said the bill is short and designed to begin a careful examination of options rather than to deliver an immediate fix. "This is a very simple bill that I worked with partners to develop," McIntyre said. She said the work would examine statewide teacher salary bargaining and other approaches that could reduce local‑level contention and shift the onus for salary decisions onto the state where appropriate.
Michael Dembrow, retired state senator and co‑chair of the 2023 joint task force on statewide educator salary schedules, told the committee the task force examined multiple models — including Oregoń's state employee bargaining model, university classified employee bargaining, Canadian provincial examples and Washington State. "By the time the task force timeline ran out, there was broad agreement that this was a subject that warranted and required further research and conversation," Dembrow said.
Morgan Allen of the Coalition of Oregon School Administrators urged the committee to study operational differences across states, including budget cycle timing and how pension obligations (PERS) are funded. Allen noted that statewide collective bargaining in other state systems yielded larger cost‑of‑living adjustments than many local districts could have afforded on their own and recommended examining mechanisms such as a separate salary pot or annual true‑ups.
Committee members asked whether the bill has fiscal implications. Dembrow and McIntyre said any cost would hinge on LPRO capacity and that the Legislative Fiscal Office would provide a formal fiscal analysis. The committee closed the public hearing and scheduled work sessions to continue consideration at its next meeting.
