Ballots are processed at the Washington County Elections Office in Hillsboro, Ore., May 21, 2024.
Kristyna Wentz-Graff / OPB
Three of Oregon’s largest school districts had measures on the May ballot to either establish or renew levies in their communities.
Portland Public and Eugene appeared to have gotten a “yes” from voters. But others weren’t so lucky.
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According to initial results this week, voters in the Bend-La Pine School District are rejecting a new tax levy that district leaders say is needed to maintain class sizes and staffing, add career technical education programs and more.
Bend-La Pine administrators warned voters before the election that if the levy didn’t pass, they’d have to eliminate up to 180 positions over the next two years, and average class sizes would likely increase by four students. They said counseling and support services would be stretched thin, and there would be a 30% reduction in building budgets.
Scott Maben, director of communications for the district, told OPB it’s too early to say if the school board will go back to voters any time soon.
“Superintendent [Steven] Cook will discuss the outcome of this election with the board at an upcoming board meeting,” he wrote in an email Wednesday, “possibly June 18.”
Maben said the district needs time to analyze the results of the election and listen to feedback from voters who did not support the levy request. He said there may be a variety of reasons it didn’t pass, and they want to look into that closely.
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However, he acknowledged it wasn’t close. Results as of Wednesday morning showed about 57% of the votes cast were in opposition.
“That’s a clear message that voters are not in favor of adding a local option levy in our district at this time,” Maben said. “We certainly are disappointed in these results, as we believe the priorities we had identified for levy funding are important and deserving of additional investment.”
Local taxes have become a key source of funding for many Oregon schools. That’s especially important this year as districts across the region face tens of millions of dollars in budget deficits. Educators are losing their jobs, and in some cases, entire schools or districts are at risk of being closed.
It’s often easier for districts to renew existing levies — such as those in Portland and Eugene — than to introduce a new tax. In some parts of the state, passing taxes to support schools may fail repeatedly before a district is able to win the support of a majority of voters, as happened in the small Gervais district this election.
Maben said leaders in Bend-La Pine are also focusing their efforts on securing adequate state funding for the 2025-27 biennium.
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“We are already deeply engaged in communicating with state leaders regarding the challenges of meeting the needs of our students with the current state of education funding in Oregon,” he wrote. “We will intensify these efforts as we approach the next legislative session.”
Maben said the future financial difficulties caused by the failed levy are separate from current budget conversations.
The school district has already built its proposed budget for the 2024-25 school year, which, like many districts across the state, reduces staffing and other spending. That budget will go to the school board next month for final approval.
The budget for the upcoming school year eliminates close to 60 positions across the district by eliminating vacant positions — rather than through layoffs. Maben said additional cuts may be necessary for the following 2025-26 school year as a result of the vote, but those conversations will be part of the budget process starting next January.
Watch the sights and sounds from past Oregon State Fairs
The 160th Oregon State Fair runs from Friday, Aug. 22, through Labor Day, Monday, Sept. 1.
The Oregon State Fair has added more big names to its 2026 Columbia Bank Concert Series lineup.
The newly announced performers include country singer Nate Smith on Aug. 28, legendary surf rock group The Beach Boys on Aug. 29 and country artist Jo Dee Messina on Sept. 4.
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The lineup joins other acts previously announced, including BigXThaPlug, who performs Aug. 31, and R&B singer Black, who performs on Sept. 1.
The 2026 headliner will be comedy musician “Weird Al” Yankovic, who will close out the concert series Sept. 7 as part of his “Bigger & Weirder” 2026 tour.
Most concerts begin at 7:30 p.m. with doors opening at 6:30 p.m. Weird Al’s Labor Day performance is scheduled for 4 p.m.
The Oregon State Fair said additional artists will be announced in the coming weeks that will take place during this year’s 11-day event in Salem.
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How can Oregonians purchase concert tickets?
Concert tickets are available only through the official state fair website via FunCard at https://oregon.funcardapp.com/. Fair organizers warned visitors to avoid unauthorized sellers and scam ticket websites.
Officials also reminded fairgoers that concerts are held rain or shine. Umbrellas are not allowed inside the L.B. Day Amphitheater, though ponchos and blankets are permitted.
The fair runs from Friday, Aug. 28, through Labor Day, Sept. 7, at the Oregon State Fairgrounds.
Ginnie Sandoval is the Oregon Connect reporter for the Statesman Journal. Sandoval is a lifelong Oregonian who covers trending news, entertainment, food and outdoors. She can be reached at GSandoval@statesmanjournal.com or on X at @GinnieSandoval.
May 20, 2026 5:59 a.m. Updated: May 20, 2026 6:04 a.m.
Nordyke took a notable lead, particularly in Marion County, in the race to run Oregon’s capital city Tuesday.
Julie Hoy, left, has served as Salem’s mayor since 2024. Hoy is challenged by Vanessa Nordyke, a Salem city councilor and lawyer who previously worked for the Oregon Department of Justice.
Courtesy of the candidates
Salem voters are deciding who they want to lead Oregon’s capital and second-largest city.
Early returns Tuesday night show Vanessa Nordyke, a current city councilor and former lawyer at the Oregon Department of Justice, in the lead, roughly 14 percentage points ahead in Marion County and seven points ahead across the Willamette River in Polk County.
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She’s competing against incumbent Julie Hoy, a restaurant owner who previously served on the Salem City Council.
Hoy’s campaign team, after the 8 p.m. returns, told OPB “the night isn’t over,” as they waited to see where things would land.
Following the 10 p.m. updates, Nordyke said, “This campaign is proof that grassroots candidates can beat big money.”
Hoy promised voters safer neighborhoods, cleaner public spaces, more housing and homelessness services, and no new taxes without voter approval, among her campaign priorities.
Meanwhile, Nordyke promised to expand mental health services, open a sobering center, push for affordable housing options, and support library funding and youth-friendly programs.
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That’s just one race in a busy election night in the capital.
Four of Salem’s eight city council positions are up for election.
Preliminary results showed two incumbents leading, including Linda Nishioka with the largest lead of any of the council races — about 30 percentage points — against Manny Martinez for Ward 2 in central Salem.
Micki Varney was narrowly ahead, holding on against challenger Chris Cummings for Ward 8 in West Salem.
Incumbents were losing in races for two other council seats. Dave Inbody was leading against incumbent Deanna Gwyn for Ward 4 in South Salem. And for Northeast Salem’s Ward 6, Betsy Vega took a roughly six-point lead against incumbent Mai Vang.
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As for Marion County commissioners, incumbent Republican Kevin Cameron and Democrat Sara Duncan are the two candidates for Position 1.
Incumbent Republican Colm Willis and Democrat Maria Hinojos Pressey are running for Position 2.
Each ran unopposed in their party for the May primary. As reported by the Statesman Journal, a Democrat hasn’t won an election to the Marion County board since 1979.
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Oregon secretary of state, AG say election system is safe and secure
Oregon’s secretary of state and attorney general spoke on Election Day, assuring voters that the state’s election system is secure.
Oregon’s secretary of state and attorney general said on Election Day the state’s election system remains secure and accurate.
Secretary of State Tobias Read said Oregon’s landmark vote-by-mail system remains the gold standard for election security and accessibility despite cuts to federal funding and operational changes that have affected support for elections.
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“Your voice matters, your vote matters,” Read said. “I want to reassure you that Oregon’s elections are secure, Oregon’s elections are accurate, Oregon’s elections are fair and you should feel confident that our system is the gold standard for elections.”
He pointed to steps the state takes to keep elections safe, accurate and secure like tracking ballots with a unique barcode system and verifying signatures. The state’s ballot-counting machines are never connected to the internet and undergo public testing before and after elections, Read added.
Read criticized President Donald Trump and the federal administration’s actions that he said have weakened election security infrastructure. He specifically highlighted cuts to the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, which Read has repeatedly expressed concerns about.
He said Oregon has worked to offset losses by forming partnerships with the Oregon Titan Fusion Center, the Oregon Military Department and county election officials to strengthen cybersecurity protections and emergency preparedness.
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And Read said the state is working to add more drop boxes in the future (there are currently 321 across the state) in response to delays in mail processing.
Rayfield also spoke, saying Oregonians should remain confident in the state’s election integrity despite misinformation surrounding election administration.
“The amount of misinformation that is being spewed across our country within this state is at an all-time high,” Rayfield said. “We have attacks on the integrity and the administration of our elections from elected officials going all the way up to the President of the United States.”
Rayfield said his Department of Justice is “pushing back” and has filed multiple legal challenges in the past year to stop “unconstitutional actions” by Trump. On May 19, a panel of Ninth Circuit judges in Pasadena, California heard oral arguments in one case related to the administration’s efforts to collect voter roll information from Oregon and California.
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Voters have until 8 p.m. May 19 to return their ballot. Election officials encouraged Oregonians to use drop boxes to return their ballots on time.
Dianne Lugo covers the Oregon Legislature and equity issues. Reach her at dlugo@statesmanjournal.comon X @DianneLugo or Bluesky @diannelugo.bsky.social
