News & Updates
No on Measures 58 & 60

September 26, 2008
Eugene Register-Guard: Measure 58 - A Loud No
"Measure 58 proposes an expensive fix for a problem that exists only in the head of its author, Bill Sizemore. Sizemore, who makes a living cluttering Oregon ballots with mischievous initiatives, wants voters to believe the state’s public schools intentionally delay teaching children English to squeeze additional money from the state."

September 24, 2008
Gresham Outlook: 2008 Measures “deepen our distrust of a system gone awry.”
The Gresham Outlook includes Measure 58 in its list of measures they won’t be supporting. “What Sizemore’s measure would do is complicate a system that’s working to move children from their native tongue to English as quickly as possible. He would segregate these children into English-immersion classes and then cut off any additional help after two years. Plus, the measure will cost the state up to $250 million at a time when it is likely to be short of money anyway.”

September 20, 2008
Oregonian: Measure 58's goal of English-only classes already a reality
According to the Oregonian, Bill Sizemore doesn’t actually know anything about education policy, or what is currently in place in Oregon.

September 19, 2008
East Oregonian: Cap should shake up language program
The East Oregonian takes a look at how Measure 58 would damage Hermiston’s students.

September 19, 2008
East Oregonian: Merit pay proposal draws teachers' ire
"There are so many outside factors, you can't really account for those," [English teacher John Larson] said, adding such a system might also lead struggling students to be overlooked or left out. "What will probably end up happening is that the best teachers will probably vie for the best classes and the best students. You end up having a very difficult situation there.

September 18, 2008
Local Districts Will Feel the Squeeze of Measures 58 and 60
Measures will take over $600 million dollars out of Oregon schools

September 16, 2008
Medford Mail Tribune: Phoenix-Talent is doing very well, but a misguided initiative would doom its effort
The Medford Mail Tribune editorializes about the unintended consequences of Measure 58, which could threaten the Phoenix and Talent schools’ successful, popular dual-immersion programs.

September 14, 2008
Oregonian: Like a bad penny, Sizemore is back.
“It's discouraging, frankly, that one man has set so much of the agenda for an Oregon election. He did it just as he has before, by manipulating the state's treasured initiative system in cynical ways never dreamed of by its founders 106 years ago.

"How so? Sizemore discovered long ago there are wealthy ideologues willing to pay handsomely to have him turn Oregon's initiative system into their personal playground. In this election, the millionaires behind the Sizemore curtain are Loren Parks, a former Oregon medical device manufacturer now living in Nevada, and Richard Wendt, founder of Jeld-Wen, a Klamath Falls manufacturing company.”

September 12, 2008
Yamhill News-Register: Reject Measure 58
"Ballot Measure 58 prohibits teaching public school students in a language other than English for more than two years ... We say No to another Sizemore ballot measure, this one because of its one-size-fits-all approach and the cost of its implementation."

September 6, 2008
Oregonian: Oregon has voted against him, but Sizemore fights on
The Oregonian examines Bill Sizemore’s track record, and determines that no matter how many times Oregon voters reject his ideas, Sizemore keeps coming back with more out-of-state money to fund his initiatives.

September 5, 2008
The Parents and Teachers Know Better Coalition kicked off to big crowds in Portland and Eugene. And Oregon’s media was there to document it.

(Eugene Register Guard) Coalition launches campaign against education measures
(KLCC Eugene) Teachers Campaign against Measures 58, 60
(Bend Bulletin) Education and labor to battle 2 measures
(KINK Radio) KINK Considers Measure 58… and considers it a bad idea.
(East Oregonian) Board votes to oppose Measure 58
The Hermiston School Board unanimously votes to oppose Measure 58.

"This measure goes against the very core of what we are as educators," said board member Phil Hamm. "I'm firmly against this ballot measure."

September 4, 2008
(Press Release) Teachers, Parents, and School Advocates Reject Measures 58 and 60
Today, parents, teachers and school advocates came together to announce their opposition to two measures that would harm Oregon’s public schools. As children all across Oregon head back to school, the Parents and Teachers Know Better Coalition publicly kicked off the campaign to defeat Bill Sizemore’s anti-education measures.

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