Residents address Joint Ways and Means Committee at roadshow hearing

Published 7:00 pm Saturday, April 12, 2025

1 of 9

Students, alumni, faculty, staff and community members gather April 11, 2025, on the quad at Eastern Oregon University to show support for the university and advocate for higher education funding prior to the Oregon Legislature’s Joint Ways and Means Committee arriving on campus. (Isabella Crowley/The Observer)

Paul Nauert, one of the organizers of Rally in our Valley, addresses the crowd April 11, 2025, at Eastern Oregon University. (Isabella Crowley/The Observer)

Alex Aghdaei chalks a message on the quad at Eastern Oregon University on April 11, 2025, for Rally in our Valley. (Isabella Crowley/The Observer)

Students, alumni, faculty, staff and community members gathered on the quad at Eastern Oregon University on April 11, 2025, to show support for the university and advocate for higher education funding prior to the Oregon Legislature’s Joint Ways and Means Committee arriving on campus. (Isabella Crowley/The Observer)

Residents advocate for education funding on April 11, 2025, during the Oregon Legislature's Joint Ways and Means Committee roadshow hearing at Eastern Oregon University.

Students, alumni, faculty, staff and community members gather April 11, 2025, on the quad at Eastern Oregon University, waving signs advocating for higher education funding prior to the Oregon Legislature’s Joint Ways and Means Committee arriving on campus. (Isabella Crowley/The Observer)

Students, alumni, faculty, staff and community members gathered on the quad at Eastern Oregon University on April 11, 2025, waving signs advocating for higher education funding prior to the Oregon Legislature’s Joint Ways and Means Committee arriving on campus. (Isabella Crowley/The Observer)

Eastern Oregon University President Kelly Ryan addresses the crowd April 11, 2025, at the campus quad to advocate for fully funding higher education in rural Oregon. (Isabella Crowley/The Observer)

Rep. Tawna Sanchez, right, and Sen. Kate Lieber, second from right, open the Joint Ways and Means Committee hearing on April 11, 2025, at Eastern Oregon University. (Isabella Crowley/The Observer)

LA GRANDE — The message to the Joint Ways and Means Committee was clear — Eastern Oregonians care deeply about a lot of issues.

Eastern Oregon University in La Grande hosted the Oregon Legislature’s Joint Ways and Means Roadshow Hearing on Friday, April 11, which gave residents an opportunity to directly address the state’s primary budget-setting body. People from across the state packed into McKinzie Theater to speak about topics near to their hearts and make cases for funding those areas.

“We heard from a lot of people about a lot of different things,” Sen. Kate Lieber said.

Lieber, D-Portland, and Rep. Tawna Sanchez, D-Portland, serve as co-chairs of the committee. Sanchez said the push for the roadshow is for the committee to hear what’s important to Oregonians across the state.

“It’s just as important for them to hear each other,” Lieber added.

In her opening remarks, Lieber said the goal for the upcoming budget cycle was to protect services, practice fiscal responsibility and retain enough flexibility within the budget given the current uncertainty within the current administration.

However, she added, the state “cannot pay for everything” and the state budget is not designed to backfill cut federal funding.

While only a fraction of the 150 people who registered to testify regarding the 2025-27 state budget priorities received the opportunity to do so, those who did spoke on a wide range of topics.

Testimonies were loosely grouped into seven categories: education K-12, higher education, human services, capital construction, environmental and health care. Elected officials from across Eastern Oregon, including commissioners from Umatilla, Union and Wallowa counties, also addressed the committee on key areas of interest for their communities.

But, Lieber and Sanchez said, three topics stood out above the rest as matters important to Eastern Oregonians — the Union County Fairgrounds Wastewater Project, water issues and education.

Water

The Union County Fairgrounds Wastewater Project aims to connect the fairgrounds with the city of La Grande’s water and sewer systems. The fairgrounds’ septic system went down several years ago, severely limiting the number of bathroom facilities available for use, and the well the Union County Fairgrounds uses is failing.

The fairgrounds are designated as Union County’s resiliency hub — meaning it serves as the county’s temporary evacuation center and emergency shelter in the event of emergencies, such as wildfires or power outages.

The county is seeking $2.5 million from the Legislature to help fund this infrastructure project. The project was originally quoted at $700,000 in 2019, according to Union County Commissioner Matt Scarfo, but inflation and rising construction costs have ballooned the cost up to $4.35 million.

Interstate 84 and the Grande Ronde River present challenges to connecting with the city’s infrastructure and complicate funding efforts. Scarfo explained in a letter to the Legislature that the only options are to either bridge over the interstate or tunnel under the river.

Scarfo, Union County Commissioner Paul Anderes and others all spoke in support of House Bill 2527, which would provide the necessary funding for the project.

“I truly believe this will be a changing event for Union County,” Anderes said.

Rally in the valley

In the hours leading up to the roadshow hearing, students, alumni, faculty, staff and community members gathered on the quad to show support for Eastern Oregon University and higher education funding.

Associated Academic Professionals — the union representing faculty at Eastern Oregon University — organized the rally. Paul Nauert, one of the organizers of Rally in our Valley, said education is integral to democracy. He is an assistant professor of history at Eastern and the political action officer of the union.

People waved hand-made signs calling for the continued funding of higher education institutions while speakers shared their own experiences on how EOU changed their lives and the importance of supporting higher education.

Raelyn Williams was one of the five students who spoke at the rally. As a first generation college student, Williams said her siblings have watched as she’s spent late nights studying and working hard for her education.

“My journey has become their blueprint,” she said.

Eastern’s ripple effects on the region became a theme among the speakers. EOU President Kelly Ryan told the crowd the work at the college does not stay within its walls.

“EOU deserves bold investments,” Ryan said. “We gather today not just to be seen, but to be heard.”

Her message to the Joint Ways and Means Committee was the state needs a full investment in rural education. Ryan said she wants every student to have access to excellent education no matter their zip code.

“We’re not just advocating for funding,” she said. “We are standing up for fairness.”