Oregon Public Broadcasting

The two education initiatives on Oregon's fall ballot carry hefty price tags, according to numbers released Wednesday by state election officials. Rob Manning reports.

Measure 60 requires that “classroom performance” rather than teachers' experience and training, determine their pay.

Election officials say that initiative would likely cost between $30 and $72 million in the first year. Subsequent years could cost up to $60 million a year, according to the official estimate – which will appear in the voter’s guide.

But that’s nothing compared to the price tag anticipated for Measure 58.

That’s the initiative prohibiting schools from teaching students in a language other than English for more than two years.

That estimate is up to a quarter of a billion dollars in the first two years. The state estimate explains the $250 million  price tag is what’s needed to get foreign-language speaking students up to federal standards.

The Financial Estimate Committee responsible for the estimates includes four state officials and one local representative.