Even so, the governor's base budget for schools was woefully inadequate. Somehow I have the feeling that if Kitzhaber shot Portland School Superintendent Ben Canada tomorrow, Senate President Brady Adams would be charged with the crime. Now this may sound like partisan carping. Really it's not. So far, there are no heroes in this saga.
Leadership is a uniquely executive function.
Only the governor, the chief executive of our state, can provide the necessary leadership to solve major problems such as school funding. When Ballot Measure 5 passed in 1990, it shifted the burden for school funding from local districts to the state. It was the Legislature and the governor who then chose to equalize funding per-pupil throughout the state. This has created the greatest hardship in those school districts, such as Portland, that were among the best in the state. Across the country, there are governors of both parties who are leading their states not only toward higher school funding, but increased performance standards as well.