Key groups weigh in on schools tax

Some are for it. Others are against it. And one key group is taking a Swiss-type neutral stance on Eugene’s proposed income tax for schools.

The Eugene Area Chamber of Commerce, the city’s major business organization, on Monday announced it opposes the tax.

Meanwhile, the local Oregon School Employees Association, which represents nonteaching employees in the Eugene district, has declined to endorse the measure.

“We haven’t come out against it, we’re simply not endorsing it,” the local’s president, Curt Smith, said Monday.

If voters approve the tax on May 17, it could raise $16.8 million for the city’s two public school districts — Eugene and Bethel — in each of the next four years.

In response to a projected $24 million budget deficit, the Eugene School District is preparing to cut as many as 109 teachers and about 10 percent of its administrative and classified staff. Tentative layoff notices will go out to 77 of 940 classified employees this week, the district’s human resources director Celia Feres-Johnson said. Another 65 part-time employees will receive notices that their hours are being reduced, she said.

Union sees no help for its workers

The potential income tax revenue would not solve the districts’ budget problems. But it’s meant to minimize teacher layoffs, keep class sizes from growing more than necessary and preserve as many instructional days as possible.

Smith’s union represents about 975 classified workers in the Eugene district, from food-service workers to custodians, bus drivers, secretaries and instructional assistants.

The income tax would save teacher jobs, but it doesn’t have “a whole lot of provisions for getting classified folks back to work,” Smith said.

Despite the union’s stance, it’s possible many members endorse the tax, he said. “But most of these folks are pretty middle class. Some of our members are on public assistance or food stamps. They, like a lot of people in this community, aren’t interested in paying more taxes. The attitude is out there that we’re a bunch of greedy employees. But we don’t make what a lot of state employees or a lot of teachers make.”

With about 1,100 members, the Eugene Area Chamber of Commerce objects to the tax, though it has endorsed the Eugene School District’s $70 million facilities bond measure, which also is on the May ballot.

Chamber President Dave Hauser said the group’s board of directors has several concerns about the income tax, including its unknown administrative costs, questions about its ability to deliver on its promises, and the chance the tax could be changed in the future by the City Council without a vote of the people.

Chamber faults rush to the ballot

The chamber board opposed the tax measure, voting 12-3 last Tuesday to approve a recommendation from the chamber’s government affairs committee, which objected to the tax.

“This was challenging for (board members) because we understand there is an unquestionable connection between the quality of the local education system and the local economy,” Hauser said.

“However, this particular measure was developed in a rush to make the May ballot, and there are a number of unanswered questions. There are simply too many unknowns at this time for an income tax to be prudent.”

The tax would impose four different tax rates, ranging from 0.35 percent to 1.2 percent, depending on income, on taxpayers who live in the city. Joint filing residents with less than $21,500 income — or single filers with less than $11,000 income — would be exempt.

But the chamber supports the facilities bond measure, which would pay to replace roofs and complete additions, remodels, energy and technology upgrades, and textbook purchases.

“Educators and students deserve the proper facilities and tools necessary for success, and … funding infrastructure now mitigates bigger issues in the long term,” Hauser said.

Hillary Johnson, chairwoman of the pro-income tax Strong Schools Eugene, said her group would have preferred backing from the chamber and the classified union.

But, she said, the income tax is endorsed by several other groups, including the Democratic Party of Lane County and the Eugene Education Association, the school teachers union.

Johnson said several businesspeople support the tax, including some who are contributing money and time to the pro-tax campaign.

Supporter says tax is pro business

The tax will help the economy by preventing the layoff of teachers, Johnson said, and halt deterioration in school quality.

“We see this measure as pro business,” she said.

Tax opponent Jennifer Solomon, spokeswoman for Citizens for Jobs and Schools, said she wasn’t surprised by the chamber’s opposition.

“They are the one trying to create jobs in this community, and an income tax is not good for business,” she said.

Solomon said the classified union’s refusal to take a position is telling.

“That says a lot,” Solomon said. “Once you start learning about (the tax) and studying it, you can’t support it because it just doesn’t make sense.”