Learn from Oregon

As most students around the nation in grades K-12 return to school today, in one school district outside Portland, youngsters will instead begin their summer vacation. Oregon school districts, facing severe budget crunches, were forced to come up with creative solutions. Many of them elected to shorten their academic year, with the Hillsboro School District at the extreme, cutting 17 days from the end of the school year.

Oregon students may enjoy their longer summer, but at what cost does it ultimately come? Yes, districts are saving money and protecting teachers' jobs, but at the cost of academics. Most high-school U.S. history classes struggle to make it through the Vietnam War during normal school years. With the shortened calendar in Oregon, classes might fall short of concluding World War II.

The drastic funding situation in Oregon may be unique to our neighbor to the south, but the implications are clear. States throughout the country are struggling, and education is easily placed on the chopping block by desperate legislatures and governors. In our own state, teachers in the Shoreline School District are expected to cast a vote of "no confidence" in their school board as a result of budget woes leaving classrooms undersupplied and teachers laid off.

As state legislators return to Olympia today, it is important for them to bear in mind the condition other states are finding themselves in, and prevent Washington from falling into a similar state. As numerous groups have pointed out, education at every level is important for Washington's success in the future.