Oregon schools got some good news this week. The Common School Fund, a lesser-known but important source of revenue for K-12 public schools, announced it will distribute a record $72.2 million this year.
Ali Ryan Hansen is with the Oregon Department of State Lands. She told KLCC the Common School Fund has existed since statehood, when the federal government granted two sections of every township for the use of schools. Her department now manages around 770-thousand acres. “We lease school rangeland to ranchers, we harvest timber on school forest land, we plan for or sell school lands as industrial or residential or commercial lands," she said. "And all the money produced by that management of state lands goes into the common school fund. That’s a $2.1 billion dollar fund that is invested by the state treasurer.”
A portion of the fund is distributed every year to all school districts, and can be used for any purpose, from maintaining facilities to instruction. Allocations depend on the number of students served. For example, in 2023, Eugene 4J will receive $2.4 million, and South Lane $403,000. A list of each school district and its 2023 distribution is here.
