A band-aid for school kids' skinned knees?

A new initiative petition aims to insure Portland's schoolchildren, boosting attendance in the process

By Shasta Kearns Moore

The Southwest Community Connection, Feb 1, 2008, Updated Oct 30, 2009

Shasta Kearns Moore / The Connection

Dr. Gregg Coodley of Fanno Creek Clinic in Hillsdale has launched an initiative campaign to try to insure all Portland public school children tax-free. Coodley says the guarantee of health care will draw new parents to the city’s dwindling rosters, enabling its schools to be eligible for more funds from the state.

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HILLSDALE – The charitable couple who has given tens of thousands of dollars in grants to local schools has a new plan in mind that combines their passion for schools and health care into one.

Drs. Gregg and Marcia Coodley, co-founders of the Fanno Creek Clinic on Vermont Street, have come up with an idea for guaranteeing all public schoolchildren in Portland have health insurance – without raising taxes.

The idea hinges on the fact that the state of Oregon gives schools a certain amount of money per year, between $6,000 and $7,000, for each student on the roster. The more students in the halls, the more money the schools get from the state.

Unfortunately, Portland’s public schools have been steadily losing students to suburban schools – at the rate of about 600 to 900 students per year for the past decade – causing a financial crisis in the district and leading to several school closures.

The Coodleys believe that if the school district offered basic health insurance to the uninsured, currently about 9,000 kids, that would attract more parents to Portland’s schools and boost attendance, therefore boosting the amount of money they get from the state.

Gregg Coodley said he initially thought of the idea in September, but with the failure of Measure 50, which was to have raised statewide cigarette taxes to pay for children’s health care, he was spurred into action.

In addition to the moral obligation to help sick kids, he said, unhealthy children don’t perform as well in school and may miss school unnecessarily.

“I think it’s a shame that anybody is uninsured,” he said.

For every new student attracted to Portland, the Coodleys estimate that about 13 students could be insured.

The plan is that the city would pay for the first two years of the $4.05 million program out of a $33 million projected surplus, after which the school districts could pay two-thirds of the cost or choose to opt out of the program.

Gregg Coodley said he is hoping that the idea, which would not raise taxes and would use private insurers, will gain wide support among conservatives and liberals alike.

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