Oregon Schools Escape Further Cuts (OR)

November 24, 2010

Oregon classrooms will finish out the calendar year with nonew cuts, based on the latest state economic forecast released Friday.

The state brought in about $100 million more than projectedin September. It’s the first quarterly forecast in two years that didn’t sendscho ol officials scrambling to plan for lower revenues and possible cuts.

"This actually seems as though we have reached thebottom. 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 $3billion gap between the state’s current level of service and projected revenuesfor the next two-year budget cycle. The governor asked state agencies,including the Oregon Department of Education, to propose 25 percent in cuts toplug that hole.

"The challenge remains. We have to create stablefunding for education. That’s critical," said Susanne Smith with theOregon Department of Education.

Superintendent of Public Instruction Susan Castillo sent aletter urging the state to reconsider proposed cuts to its agency operations,the Oregon School for the Deaf, school funding and grant-in-aid programsserving special-education andpre-school students.

The loss in school funding alone would mean the equivalentof cutting 40 days per year, according to the letter.

Cuts to special-educationservices already put the state in a position to lose $19 million in federalfunds because it didn’t maintain services. Oregon Department of Education plansto file a waiver request in January to keep those funds, but significant cutsto special education, according tothe letter, would undermine the state’s effort.

School district budgets also are expected to take a hit fromincreases in PERS employer rates. Systemwide, the rates are expected toincrease an average of 5.6 percentage points, to 10.8 percent of payroll, inthe next biennium – an amount that could cost more tha n $1 billion total acrossthe state.

Incoming Gov. John Kitzhaber will submit his own budget byFeb. 1, and the Legislature will create a budget in the spring, usually betweenMarch and May. That’s when school districts will get a clearer picture of howmuch they’ll receive from the state in order to balance their budgets.

Salem-Keizer Public Schools will have its second budgetcommittee meeting Nov. 30 to talk about the forecast and the governor’sproposed budget. The committee will continue working on next year’s budgetduring public meetings in January, March, April and May. Each district isrequired to adopt a balanced budget by June 30 for the next school year.

"There are two more forecasts that the Legislature willuse 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 canhappen."