Property-Tax Limit Forces Cuts in Oregon

Although Oregon has escaped the worst of the current recession, that has been little comfort for the education schools at the state's two leading universities, which have endured budget cutbacks as severe as those anywhere in the country.

Oregon's fiscal crisis stems not from the slow economy but from a 1990 ballot initiative limiting property taxes.

The constitutional amendment also required the state to make up the difference in local property-tax revenues lost by the public elementary and secondary schools. That mandate has put severe pressure on the state budget, forcing lawmakers to order major...