CC Minutes - 08/12/02 Meeting - Laserfiche WebLink

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In response to a question from Councilor Nathanson regarding the rate per thousand dollars of property assessment, Barb Bellamy said the current youth levy was 21.5 cents and acknowledged that the proposed levy would be for 86 cents per $1,000. Councilor Meisner said he was troubled by the inequities in the levy and the school district's resistance to address those inequities for Eugene residents. He said passing the resolution at the local level enabled the school funding problem, on the State level, to continue which would be against the City's long-term interests. He remarked that he did not expect the legislature to come up with a responsible solution in the next session or the one after it. He said he would not support putting the levy on the ballot. Councilor Pap~ said a better forum for the issue would have been the Board of County Commissioners or the State Legislature. He said he would support the amended proposal. Councilor Fart said he would support the motion. Councilor Taylor said she would support the motion. Councilor Bettman said she would support the motion. She said it was not the time or the place for the City of Eugene to get in the middle of the discussion between charter schools and the school districts. She said that the resolution would, at best, buy an additional four years for the students of the district. She expressed a hope that in that time legislators who truly supported the State's schools would be elected. Councilor Nathanson said she would support the motion. She said the most persuasive argument was that student activities such as music and physical education would be restored, as well as librarians, school nurses, and counselors would not be there except for the proposed funding measure. Mayor Torrey said he supported Governor John Kitzhaber's position on his recent budget vetoes but noted that he also supported overturning the vetoes because the school districts were not equipped to deal with the implications of those vetoes. He said the message behind the veto was the right message and added that the State Legislature had let Oregon's children down by simply walking away from the issue of education. He opined that the State Legislature in 2003 would walk away from the issue again. He expressed a hope that Oregon's citizens would take an example from Eugene's citizens and recognize that it was time for citizens to take the initiative before the voters of Oregon to find an appropriate way to fund education on a sustainable basis. He said he did not believe the two-party system in Salem had the courage to deal with the issue but stressed that the children of the State should not be held responsible for that lack of courage. He urged the council to support the measure. Mayor Torrey said he would spend the following year working with the legislature on ways to fund education. He reiterated that the State Legislature had failed the children of Oregon by walking away from the issue and added that the legislators should be ashamed of themselves. Roll call vote; the motion passed, 6:2; councilors Rayor and Meisner voting in opposition. Councilor Kelly, seconded by Councilor Pap~, moved to authorize the expenditure of not more than $5,000 from the General Fund contingency MINUTES--Eugene City Council August 12, 2002 Page 9 Regular Meeting