With the booming high-tech economy putting unprecedented
pressure on west suburban schools, something has to give
in Washington County this fall. Eileen Qutub is hoping
it isn't her.
The GOP state senator is facing the fight of her political
life against Ryan Deckert, a well-financed, energetic,
two-term Democratic House member. To convince voters that
she deserves to keep her seat, she is giving herself a
lot of extra credit for supporting education issues in
the Legislature. The problem is, folks at the local schoolhouse
don't agree with her.
"She hasn't been there for Washington County," says Mike
Leopold, a registered Republican who serves on the Beaverton
school board. Leopold is so disenchanted with Qutub that
he is crossing party lines and publicly endorsing Deckert.
In fact, five of the seven Beaverton School Board members
are backing Deckert.
Leopold's problems with his fellow Republican are two-fold.
First, he says, Qutub did not fight for an adequate education
budget last session. Secondly, she's now refusing to take
a position on the tax-cutting Ballot Measure 91 and the
spending-limiting Ballot Measure 8, both of which could
drastically curb state money for schools.
"She will not take stands on ballot measures that are
detrimental to public education,"
he says.
It's no surprise that education is issue No. 1 on the
west side of the tunnel. Since 1990's Measure 5 passed,
schools in affluent districts like Beaverton have faced
budget cuts as school financing shifted from local property
taxes to the state general fund and cash was spent on
poorer districts.
As a result, Beaverton--the third-largest district in
the state--is filled with parents complaining about bulging
schools, inadequate bus systems, reduced programs and,
most loudly, an unresponsive state Legislature.
Caught in their collective glare is Qutub.
Last session, as chair of the Ways and Means subcommittee
on human resources, Qutub was forced to focus on the budget
for the Oregon Health Plan and the myriad other social
services the state provides. In the process, she wrangled
over the huge chunk of the general-fund pie that goes
to education, and many local education boosters think
she came up short when she balked at the amount schools
wanted and instead backed a lower figure pushed by party
leaders.
"From my perspective as a board member and education
advocate, I think Ryan is heads-and-tails stronger than
what the current senator stands for and has done," says
Leopold.
There are some dissenters on the Beaverton school board.
Ann Jacks is endorsing Qutub. She is joined by fellow
board member John Wilkens in her lonely stance.
Although Jacks' endorsement is played up prominently
on the senator's latest mailer, it's fairly tepid in person.
"I know she didn't support the highest level of funding
that Beaverton wanted, but we talked about this, and she
supported a realistic level," Jacks says. (Jacks also
initially disagreed with Qutub's strong support of charter
schools, but says the senator explained the issue to her
satisfaction.)
Jacks says she thinks Deckert's education positions are
as strong as Qutub's, but ultimately, it comes down to
who she thinks will win.
"I told Ryan that I'm more than willing to work with
him should he win, but I feel that being in the senate
majority has its advantages as well. I feel I'll be able
to present Beaverton's issues."
Jacks admits that, with her endorsement, she may be digging
her own political grave as a member of the Beaverton school
board. The Beaverton Education Association has criticized
her stance, as have other public-education proponents.
The Oregon Education Association--the teachers union--is,
as usual, speaking with its cash. It's the single largest
contributor outside of the Democratic caucus to Deckert's
campaign. At more than $28,000 so far, the OEA is targeting
this race in an attempt to oust a lawmaker who scored
only 18 percent on its 1999 legislative agenda and is
one of two GOP senators (Larry George is the other) considered
vulnerable.
Qutub is fighting back hard, and her attacks on Deckert
show she is feeling cornered. She has generated a non-controversy
by picking out the number of votes Deckert missed in the
House and painting him as lazy. But according to statistics
provided by Senate Democrats, she missed nearly as many
votes as he did; they're just recorded differently in
the Senate.
Beyond that, the senator has a different idea of what
it means to be an education candidate. She says her votes
on the budget-writing committee prove she supports schools.
"You can call it a top priority when you give 50 percent
of the general fund to education
funding."
She also served on the state's legislative emergency
board, which disburses dollars between sessions. Last
spring she voted to funnel $21 million to the schools
when it was clear that there would be a budget shortfall
in the districts due to delayed property-tax payments.
But, she adds, "funding is not the only issue in education."
She says she wants to figure out a way to get parents
more involved in the schools, for example, and she is
proud of her work on the charter schools bill.
For his part, Deckert is also playing up his education
record, saying that he supported the original $5 billion
schools budget put forth by public-education advocates
and that he siphoned $40 million in money for school technology
from the telecommunications deregulation bill. That's
true, but as vulnerable as Qutub is, Deckert's education
record doesn't necessarily speak for itself. As a House
minority member, he had little say on school funding and
also received low scores in WW's survey of local
lawmakers ("The Good, The Bad and The Awful," WW,
July 14, 1999), in which he was criticized for ineffectiveness
and grandstanding on high-profile issues like cutting
Ticketmaster surcharges.
In spite of that, Qutub has a hard sell.
Qutub, like state Rep. Bill Witt, is best known for pushing
a conservative moral agenda in a district that has long
been represented by pro-choice, socially progressive Republicans.
But, behind the scenes, she has earned a reputation for
coldness and insensitivity (in WW's survey last
June, she was one of the most criticized lawmakers in
Salem). Some parents in Beaverton say they couldn't get
her to listen to them at all.
Priscella Turner says the senator has met only once with
the lobbying hordes of parents and teachers that have
descended on Salem over the past decade trying to increase
the school-funding portion of the budget.
"We were not welcomed by Sen. Qutub," she says. "We'd
try to make an appointment and she would be unavailable.
Bill Witt always made time for us. Ryan Deckert, always."
