Article VIII of the Oregon State Constitution

Having last time looked at the amended version of Article VII of the Oregon State Constitution, we are going to skip over the original version of Article VII.  We will move onto Article VIII which deals with Education and School Lands.

Section 1

This section establishes that there is a Superintendent of Public Instruction.

Section 2

This section defines the sources of income of the State of Oregon that are to be directed to be expended on Education.

Section 3

This section provides that the legislature must create a system of public schools by law.

Section 4

This defines the distribution of the monies received through sources in section 2 to be distributed in proportion to the school-age population in each county.

Section 5

This section defines that a State Land Board is created.  This board is responsible for the management of the lands in such a way that the State gets the greatest benefit from the land.  It is intended to have a long-term outlook.

Section 7

This section is a protectionist measure intended to bolster the sawmill industry in Oregon.  Note to self: see if there is available on-line studies that have determined if this in fact lead to jobs in Oregon or not.

Section 8

Part (a) establishes that every 2 years, a funding report has to be written and that funds have to be allocated to the schools where deemed necessary out of the general expenditure funds.  Here is a link to the latest such report.  Part (b) establishes a system of equalization grants.  These are somewhat controversial since they label districts as have's and have not's.