Bipartisan Lawmakers Fight to Revive $4 Billion Oregon Funding Law as Schools Face Million-Dollar Shortfalls

A group of bipartisan lawmakers has joined forces to urge Congress to renew a 24-year-old law that has provided Oregon with $4 billion dollars for essential public services and education.

The Secure Rural Schools Act distributed funding for schools, roads, and other public services and infrastructure to 41 states and Puerto Rico.

The act was reauthorized by the Senate last November, but because House Republicans could not agree on how the bill should be funded, it died without a vote taking place, Currently, there is no hearing scheduled in the House or Senate.

Oregon Schools Have Received $368 Million Since 2000

Since the act was established in 2000, $368 million has been channeled into Oregon schools by the Secure Rural Schools Act. The funding averaged $9.7 million annually, according to the Oregon Department of Education.

Until 2023, Oregon recognized Secure Rural Schools payments as local revenues of the statewide school funding equalization formula. That meant that 165 of the state’s 197 school districts received funding.

However, Oregon changed its distribution model in 2023 when it stopped including Secure Rural Schools funding as local revenue.

ODE Must Pay Back Millions of Dollars to 82 School Districts

Last year, the Oregon Department of Education agreed to pay back school districts entitled to receive more funding than they received and faces a 1 October deadline to meet the obligation. It involves millions of dollars owed to 82 school districts, including Klamath County which has a shortfall of more than $2.5 million.

Among the top recipients of funding over the last 20 years, are school districts in Albany, Douglas County, Roseburg, Eugene, and Springfield, as well as districts near the Klamath National Forest.

The Act is Funded by Timber Production and Animal Grazing

The Secure Rural Schools Act distributed money to counties with federal land within their borders that provide essential services to residents and industries that use the land for federal government revenue-generating activities, including timber production and animal grazing.

The lawmakers decided on 4 February to take charge to reintroduce the Secure Rural Schools Act – they are Oregon U.S. Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley, (Democrats), and two Idaho Republicans, U.S. Senators Mike Crapo and Jim Risch.

The act was reintroduced to the U.S. House on 14 February by a bipartisan group of lawmakers from the U.S. House of Representatives. They included U.S. Rep. Val Hoyle, a Democrat who represents Oregon’s 4th District, and Rep. Cliff Bentz, a Republican who represents Oregon’s 2nd District.