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Tribal advocates keep up legal pressure for fair political maps; 12-member jury sworn in for Trump's historic criminal trial; Healthcare decision planning important for CT residents; Debt dilemma poll: Hoosiers wrestle with college costs.

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Civil Rights activists say a court ruling could end the right to protest in three southern states, a federal judge lets January 6th lawsuits proceed against former President Trump and police arrest dozens at a Columbia University Gaza protest.

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Rural Wyoming needs more vocational teachers to sustain its workforce pipeline, Ohio environmental advocates fear harm from a proposal to open 40-thousand forest acres to fracking and rural communities build bike trail systems to promote nature, boost the economy.

OR Schools Await Last Bit of State Funding

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Wednesday, February 24, 2010   

SALEM, Ore. - It is impossible to budget without knowing what your income will be, and the Oregon Legislature is expected to make budgeting for next year a little easier for the state's public school districts. On Tuesday, the Senate voted on SB 5565, to authorize a final $200 million of school funding that had been approved but not guaranteed; the House takes it up today.

Chuck Bennett, director of government relations for the Confederation of Oregon School Administrators, explains schools are now in the middle of a two-year, $6 billion budget cycle. He says the $200 million is not "extra" money, but part of the original total, and it still leaves schools short on funds.

"Despite voting on Measure 66 and 67 and all the other things that go on, schools are dealing with absolutely less than they did two years ago, by a quarter of a billion dollars. I think that's important to understand."

The money will come from the Education Stability Fund and the Rainy Day Fund, which means partly from lottery proceeds. Using these sources requires a three-fifths majority in both House and Senate. The Senate's approval vote was 27-3.

The vote will help the school districts plan ahead, although Bennett points out there are still many variables, including teacher contract negotiations and higher health care costs.

"If they know what they can count on, they can work with it. Now, there are all kinds of other factors at play – the excitement of being a school administrator, budgeting in this economy, there's no rest for them in all of this."

Most school districts start their budgeting for the coming year in March, so Bennett says the vote comes at a good time for them. He adds, however, that many are still planning layoffs, cutting programs and increasing class sizes to compensate for lower state funding.



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