Oregon Schools Escape Further Cuts (OR)
November 22, 2010
Oregon classrooms will finish out the calendar year with no new cuts, based on the latest state economic forecast released Friday.
The state brought in about $100 million more than projected in September. It’s the first quarterly forecast in two years that didn’t send school officials scrambling to plan for lower revenues and possible cuts.
"This actually seems as though we have reached the bottom. The forecast is for continued slow growth," said Mike Wolfe, assistant superintendent for Salem-Keizer Public Schools.
"I’m really happy to hear that."
But the growth isn’t enough to bridge the estimated $3 billion gap between the state’s current level of service and projected revenues for the next two-year budget cycle. The governor asked state agencies, including the Oregon Department of Education, to propose 25 percent in cuts to plug that hole.
"The challenge remains. We have to create stable funding for education. That’s critical," said Susanne Smith with the Oregon Department of Education.
Superintendent of Public Instruction Susan Castillo sent a letter urging the state to reconsider proposed cuts to its agency operations, the Oregon School for the Deaf, school funding and grant-in-aid programs serving special-education and pre-school students.
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The loss in school funding alone would mean the equivalent of cutting 40 days per year, according to the letter.
Cuts to special-education services already put the state in a position to lose $19 million in federal funds because it didn’t maintain services. Oregon Department of Education plans to file a waiver request in January to keep those funds, but significant cuts to special education, according to the letter, would undermine the state’s effort.
School district budgets also are expected to take a hit from increases in PERS employer rates. Systemwide, the rates are expected to increase an average of 5.6 percentage points, to 10.8 percent of payroll, in the next biennium — an amount that could cost more than $1 billion total across the state.
Incoming Gov. John Kitzhaber will submit his own budget by Feb. 1, and the Legislature will create a budget in the spring, usually between March and May. That’s when school districts will get a clearer picture of how much they’ll receive from the state in order to balance their budgets.
Salem-Keizer Public Schools will have its second budget committee meeting Nov. 30 to talk about the forecast and the governor’s proposed budget. The committee will continue working on next year’s budget during public meetings in January, March, April and May. Each district is required to adopt a balanced budget by June 30 for the next school year.
"There are two more forecasts that the Legislature will use in March and May and hopefully those will be much more positive," Wolfe said.
"We’ve got a long way to go and a lot can happen."