A former data analyst for the state of Oregon has filed a wrongful termination suit alleging that he was dismissed after trying for months to call attention to systemic problems with the state’s method for funding schools that serve large numbers of students from low-income families.
Jesse Helligso’s suit against the state of Oregon and the Legislature was filed Nov. 5 in Marion County Circuit Court. He is seeking $556,667 in damages to compensate both for lost wages and the physical and emotional toll of the situation.
The lawsuit describes Helligso’s effort in the winter and spring of 2025 to alert lawmakers to fundamental issues with the formula it has used for decades to calculate how much extra money is due to schools according to how many of their students live at or below the federal poverty line.
The existing formula, his research found, suggested that Oregon was accomplishing the opposite of its stated goal, sending more money per student to districts serving higher income students than those with more low-income families.
By every measure, Oregon’s neediest students read, do math and graduate from high school at far lower levels than their peers from more financially stable homes. They’re also more likely to miss big chunks of the school year.
At every turn, the lawsuit alleges, Helligso was stymied. He alerted co-workers at Oregon’s Legislative Policy and Research Office, and then his supervisor in hopes of reaching lawmakers responsible for crafting the state’...
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