THIS is why we need change...

So in today's MMT (attention drawn to it thanks to Keith Hinty at the Jefferson Exchange), we find a very distressing fact: Nearly half of the students attending schools in Medford meet the poverty standard to qualify for free or reduced lunches.

The number is on the rise, said Julie York, Medford schools’ special services supervisor. York oversees federal programs designed to help low-income students.



"This is my fifth year with the district, and the average was 33 percent when I started," she said.



Countywide, 40 percent of public school children were eligible for free or reduced-price meals last year, Children First for Oregon, a statewide advocacy group reported in December.



Families that make up to 130 percent of the federal poverty level qualify for free meals. Last year that was $15,756 for a two-person household or $23,920 for a family of four. Reduced- price meals are offered for students whose families make up to 185 percent of the federal poverty level — $22,422 for a two-person household or $34,040 for four.

This is a series of reinforcing events, folks... as school funding drops and employers can't recruit solid employees in Oregon (cuz who want's to work in a town where their kids don't have good schools?), the economy sags... which means the sole tax we depend on to fund education continues to drop... which means school funding continues to suffer... and round and round it goes.



It's been a decade and a half since the GOP took control of the Oregon Legislature. It's time for a change.