Governor Kotek and Oregon Legislators, 

PPS students have been out of school for over two weeks. Governor Kotek, you said that you "expect the adults in the room to come together and figure it out for kids and their families." The PPS and PAT are fighting over scraps due to over thirty years of underfunding by the Oregon legislature. The legislature is decades past due on coming together to figure it out. 

Our schools have been underfunded for three decades. Since 2001, Oregon schools have been underfunded by over $22 billion. That amounts to $800,000 that could have gone to every single school in Oregon, every year, for the last 22 years. Your refusal to provide much needed funding to students in PPS and other school districts around the state has resulted in direct harm to the children of Oregon and their families. 

Let's be honest. The PAT, parents, community members, and businesses supporting Oregon’s largest school district are standing in solidarity for our students for reasons that go beyond this year's budget shortfall. Other school districts around the state are facing the same problems that PPS teachers are fighting to fix. We are at a crossroads and it is a statewide issue. It is an emergency that requires your immediate and long-term attention. Not only was the Student Success Act insufficient, but it was followed by a pandemic for which additional state and federal funding has dried up. Teachers, students and their families cannot go on any longer under the current system. 

As signers, we want you to know that we support public education and believe it is the foundation for a healthy and inclusive democracy. Without a strong public education system, Oregon cannot have a robust economy, a skilled workforce, a clean environment or safe communities. 

In solidarity with teachers and PPS,

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