Wednesday, June 18, 2008

Sizemore Bites

Coming this November, Oregon:

Two more initiatives sponsored by conservative activists have qualified for the Nov. 4 general election ballot.

One would allow bigger deductions on state income taxes, shrinking the state budget by more than $1.7 billion. The other initiative, part of a broader battle over immigration policy, would limit the amount of time non-English-speaking students can be taught in their native language.

'Can't tell you how displeased I am to hear this news. Thankfully, this piece from CAUSA points to the formidable "Vote No" coalition that I'll have the pleasure of (participant)-observing.
A broad coalition of immigrant, refugee, educators and ally organizations are set to fight the ill-conceived measure by educating Oregonians about the additional costs the measure will create, the fact that it will take federal money away from Oregon’s General Fund Budget, the harm it will do to children and the control it will take away from local school boards, families and educators, those whom know best about educate our children.

"We are in the process of educating families in communities around Oregon about the harmful consequences of this measure”, said Aeryca Steinbauer, coordinator of CAUSA. “Oregonians everywhere should be concerned about its damaging effects on children and disruption of local control".

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