Student organizations and University administrators are scrambling to deal with two state ballot referendums going to a special vote in January that would have a large impact on higher education funding in Oregon.
The two referendums, Measures 66 and 67, seek to veto two bills signed by Gov. Ted Kulongoski in July that would raise state taxes on corporations, businesses and high-income individuals by a total of $733 million.
If the referendums pass, they would cut a sizable chunk of revenue that the Oregon University System, hurting from recent budget cuts, was looking forward to. The uncertainty has left school administrators in a pickle because they can’t be sure of how much funding they will receive in the coming year.
At a University Senate meeting last week, University Vice President of Finance and Administration Frances Dyke said the minimum loss for the University if the referendums pass would be $3 million.
However, opponents of the tax increases, officially organized as Oregonians Against Job-Killing Taxes, say the increases will cost Oregonians more jobs and depress wages.
Pat McCormick, the communication director for Oregonians Against Job-Killing Taxes, said the tax measures would increase the volatility of Oregon’s tax structure and impact every business in the state. McCormick said 129,500 private sector jobs have been lost in the recession.
“We need more jobs in this state if we want to better fund higher education,” he said. “And we need those jobs if we want to fix Oregon’s revenue system.”
Our Oregon, the main organization in favor of the tax increases, did not return calls seeking comment.
Meanwhile, the Oregon Student Association and the Associated Students of the University of Oregon are working together in a non-partisan campaign to get out the student vote.
Tamara Henderson, the executive director of OSA, said the group is conducting a state-wide student voter registration drive. Henderson said OSA registered 5,000 students to vote in the first week of fall term.
ASUO state and federal legislative affairs coordinators Rachel Cushman and Robert Greene have been spearheading the campus effort. Cushman said the ASUO’s goal is to register 2,500 students.
Cushman said the University is already leading the state in the registration drive. The second phase of the operation, Henderson said, is educating student voters on the issue. OSA will work with professors to do presentations and slide shows before classes, as well as the usual phone-banking and door-to-door activities.
“We don’t tell students how to vote, but we do tell them why they should vote,” Henderson said. “It’s important to recognize that no matter how you feel about the issue, the vote will affect education.”
Greene and Cushman said the ASUO is also planning to host a public forum later in the term where both sides of the issue will present their cases
to students.
On Thursday, the ASUO is hosting a day of action in the EMU Amphitheater from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. to register student voters.
Greene, who is optimistic about the campaign, said Thursday’s event is “going to promote democracy and save the world from tyranny.”
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