Oregon's future depends on all our children receiving an excellent education every year. We cannot afford to shortchange public education and we cannot afford to wait.

We need School Board members to be strong advocates for school funding. I have gone to Salem many times over the past several years, as a mom and PTA member — most recently, with my entire family for the Feb. 19 rally at the Capitol organized by Stand for Children.

A Jan. 7 Oregonian newspaper story highlighted me as a parent activist eager for progress from the newly elected Legislature.

I’ve written letters to the editor and to legislators, lobbied in person, and organized other parents to do the same. As an elected Portland School Board member, I will renew and strengthen my efforts to influence the Governor and Legislature to re-invest in quality education for Oregon’s children.

I will join the Board and Superintendent and our business and community leaders to lobby in Salem for funding that is tied to the Quality Education Model established by the Legislature in 2001. Our state has yet to meet those mandated standards, designed to get at least 90% of our children to benchmark. We need serious tax reform and political will to make this happen. I will lobby for realistic, fair solutions like increasing the $10 corporate tax (based on size of the company) and eliminating the corporate kicker. We must invest in quality education for Oregon's children and our common future.