Mooney expresses concerns for FFA funding
By Terry Murry on Friday, January 30th, 2026 in Columbia Basin News More Top Stories
SALEM – Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek has ordered departments to make budget cuts as economists predict that the state will be facing a $63 million deficit in the current budget cycle that ends June 30, 2027. There is a chance that the February revenue forecast could change the prediction of that deficit. The Oregon Department of Education is therefore recommending cuts of up to $1.1 million to FFA funding.
Hermiston School Superintendent Tricia Mooney is concerned.
“The Department of Education put out their list of reductions and the legislature’s going to have to make some decisions around that,” she said. “In our region, FFA is a really big deal. It impacts a lot of kids.”
Mooney is not the only person who will be watching the Oregon Legislature when its short session begins Monday. Members of the Oregon Agriculture Teachers Association wrote a letter to the Joint Ways and Means Committee urging lawmakers to continue funding for the FFA. The group said that state funding has helped FFA grow by more than 50 percent over the last six years.
Oregon FFA has more than 15,000 members and 1213 chapters across the state. It helps students prepare for careers in numerous disciplines in addition to agriculture. Some of those jobs are biologists, veterinarians, and scientists.
