Oregon school districts are required to cover the full cost of their K–12 employer obligations to the Public Employees’ Retirement System (PERS). In 2025, districts reported contributing $1.25 billion to PERS, but that figure does not capture what districts pay in debt service on the pension obligation bonds many of them issued to pre-fund their PERS accounts. This interactive brief examines the gap between reported contributions and total pension costs, drawing on Oregon Department of Education revenue and expenditure data and PERS actuarial valuations.
The analysis tracks how district PERS contributions changed between 2005 and 2025, a period in which reported contributions rose 74% after inflation while total K–12 expenditures rose 30%. It documents the swing in the PERS system from a $9.7 billion surplus in 2007 to a $15.4 billion unfunded liability in 2025 and the factors behind it: investment returns below assumptions, updated actuarial assumptions, and interest compounding on existing pension debt. Using district and county financial statements, it estimates that Oregon school districts made more than $321 million in pension obligation bond payments in FY 2025 alone, which fall outside the reported PERS contribution total.
The brief also situates Oregon among other states. Twenty-seven states plus Washington, D.C. contribute toward K–12 school district pension obligations. Oregon does not, leaving individual districts responsible for both normal costs and their share of unfunded liability payments.
Explore the interactive charts below to see the underlying data on pension debt, funded ratios, and the composition of what districts actually pay. A two-page PDF version formatted for print and circulation is available for download.
This research was produced by Equable at the request of the Oregon Network for Education Excellence.
