Measure 2-160 technically adds a tax benefitting Corvallis schools, but really, it just continues a tax everyone is accustomed to paying. Voters have been saying yes to this totally optional tax every five years for two decades, more than 70% approved in the last go-around.
The tax, which adds $1.50 per $1,000 of assessed value to property tax bills, pays for goodies that state school funding falls short of. It means Corvallis’ students get added teaching staff for elementary music, physical education and art. At higher levels it means vocational and technical programs that may otherwise go unfunded. And at all levels, this optional tax reduces class sizes and adds school counselors, coaches and extracurriculars.
Want to know more. We sat down with School Board Member Sami Al-Adbrabbuh, teachers’ union president Christa Schmeder and past union president Peg Cornell to get all the details. The video runs just under 35 minutes. Moderators include Campbell Grove and Steven J. Schultz from The Advocate.
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