Legislative Budget Boosts K-12, Angers Unions

By NIGEL JAQUISS

There are a couple of key takeaways from a quick skim of the budget that the co-chairs of the Legislature's Joint Ways and Means Committee released today. 

1. There's slightly more money for K-12 education, the biggest single line item in the budget, than there was in Gov. John Kitzhaber's budget, released last November.

Kitzhaber proposed $6.15 billion, plus $253 million in pension savings. The co-chairs' budget, written by Sen. Richard Devlin (D-Tualatin) and Rep. Peter Buckley (D-Ashland), is $6.55 billion plus $200 million in pension savings, or a net of $350 million more funding than the governor proposed.

2. While Kitzhaber sought $865 million in pension savings, the co-chairs have dialed that number back to $455 million. Here's their reasoning:

organized labor responded strongly
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