Under Measure 54, all local educational bonds would assume the state's rating. In effect, the state is cosigning loans for local entities. Measure 54 is a sensible proposal that will bring immediate savings to taxpayers. If recession hits, they argue, the state could be on the hook in Wankers Corners and across the state. Such fears are unrealistic.
Critics also say the state has no business backing local bonds.
Since the passage of Measure 5 in 1990, educational funding has become increasingly a state, rather than local, responsibility. There is no record of any school district in Oregon defaulting on bond debt. How it Would Work Measure 55 takes its cue from 44 other states in which families can prepay tuition, locking in some or all of the cost of a college education far ahead of time. Measure 55 would guarantee tuition at any of Oregon's public colleges in the future at today's prices. And if students end up in one of Steve Doell's gulags or chooses to hang Sheetrock rather than go to college, parents get their original payment back with interest.