PSU Vanguard
by Dylan Jefferies
March 2, 2021
Following the release of Oregon’s quarterly economic forecast on Feb. 24, education leaders and advocates released a statement calling on lawmakers to “fully invest in public education from pre-school through post-secondary education. ” P-20 investment, in other words.
The statement argues such investment would bolster Oregon’s economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic and improve the state’s overall economic health. Multiple groups, including Oregon’s Public Universities and the American Association of University Professors (AAUP) were behind the statement.
The statement also calls for “full funding for investments in the education sector that create opportunity and promote racial, social and economic equity for Oregon students.”
“[Portland State is] joining with the state’s other public universities in advocating for funding for the P-20 system,” stated Vice President for University Relations Kevin Neely in an email. “Each component of the system operates independently, but they build on each other. We want our class of 2037, which is starting Pre-K now, to be college ready in 13 years. That is the main thread of the effort—don’t defund or underfund one part of the education system to shift it into another part. Oregon must fund the full range of our public education system if we are to close historic income disparities and imagine a more equitable economy.”
“The education advocates at the pre-school, K-12, and post-secondary education levels came together as a sector to advocate for our budgets in an expression of solidarity and unity,” stated PSU-AAUP Vice President for Legislative and Political Action Ramin Farahmandpur in an email. “We are not advocating for a structural reformatting; we simply understand that our shared interest in full funding across the various levels is based in our commitment to serving our students well throughout their lives.”