In our Lake Oswego community we are honored to have an intelligent, skilled populous. Our community is brimming with movers and shakers — professionals from all backgrounds that are eager to share their expertise and are dedicated to shaping our community. This community has time and time again supported our Lake Oswego School District, through bonds and levies, even when state funding has been below necessary levels. As a state, Oregon has for decades failed to fund our public schools to the numbers that our Quality Education Commission has recommended, most recently coming short by over one billion dollars.

Funding deficits put our schools in a difficult position, and further risk our students’ ability to compete nationally. In most states in our nation, such as our neighbors in Washington and California, students receive 180 instructional days per school year. In Oregon, many districts fall below 165 days a year. Already, some districts in our state are threatening to further cut instructional days from the calendar due to current budget shortfalls.

Here in Lake Oswego, and across the state, our test scores have gone down in comparison with national test scores. We cannot continue to ask our students to do more with less. We must continue to elect school board members in Lake Oswego who recognize that our students are not customers in a business and that our schools are not assets on a budget sheet.

As voters make their decision for the May 20 election, it is important they closely question the employment success of any candidate pushing their business and finance credentials. Voters should similarly question school board candidates with ties to private equity companies, especially those with a track record of investing in for-profit education.

My expertise is in education, a claim easily backed by my Master’s in Education Policy from Johns Hopkins, and my years as a public school classroom teacher across multiple grade levels. Most importantly, I know that our school district, our schools and our teachers are not business assets. Our students are our city’s most cherished resource — worthy of being prioritized in all budgeting decisions.

Of course, there are hard decisions to be made during times of financial strain, such as a reduction of force and redistributing resources, and these choices may at times be necessary for any school district. This reality makes it even more critical for our school board to be comprised of members who put our students first, all while working alongside our district’s team of financial experts to make the most of limited resources.

We must recognize that our Oregon school districts are struggling with the ramifications of past policies — from shortsighted decisions of PERS, to side effects of pandemic era restrictions. Oregon’s volatile public school funding will continue to be an issue until large-scale, creative changes are recognized and passed in Salem.

If elected this May, I plan to join the Oregon School Board Association so that, from a Lake Oswego school board perspective, I can work to influence education policy in Oregon to improve outcomes for our students. Tough choices are inevitable on the school board, and I ask for your vote to ensure that our students remain our most important consideration for the challenges ahead.

Kate Lupton is running for Lake Oswego School Board position 4 in the upcoming May 20 election.