Sean C. Morgan
School District 55 Supt. Don Schrader is optimistic that the governor’s budget proposal marks the bottom end of funding for schools in the 2013-15 biennium.
Schrader and the district’s Budget Committee met Monday night for a primer on the budget process and to discuss priorities for the 2013-14 budget.
Gov. Kitzhaber is proposing a $6.15 billion K-12 budget. Without the governor’s associated proposals for reform of the Public Employees Retirement System, Oregon education organizations say that it will be a “crisis budget.”
According to the Oregon Education Association, the Oregon School Boards Association, the Oregon School Employees Association, the Confederation of Oregon School Administrators and the Oregon PTA, a statewide budget of $6.55 billion would still require districts to cut, while $6.75 billion would be stable. At $6.895 billion, districts could begin adding back what has been lost in recent years.
In Dallas, the $6.15 billion figure, with no PERS reform, would require a $1.6 million cut, equivalent of 33 days or 21 teachers, said Business Manager Kevin Strong.
Kitzhaber’s proposal is to eliminate payments to out-of-state retirees that offset income taxes paid by Oregon residents, Strong said. That reform is popular with legislators. The second reform would limit cost-of-living adjustments to the first $24,000 of earnings from PERS. On a 2-percent cost-of-living adjustment, the maximum increase to PERS recipients would be $480 per year. Without the reform, a retiree receiving $100,000 per year would see an increase of $2,000 per year, and that would compound annually afterward.
“That proposal is being met with resistance,” Strong said. Even if it passes the Legislature, it would still face hurdles.
“A number of unions have said they will sue on behalf of their members if it passes.”
Without those PERS reforms, it would create a $400,000 shortfall for Sweet Home because PERS rates will cost the district $550,000 more than the current school year, Strong said.
That’s six teachers or seven school days, Schrader said. Large high school classes and blended elementary school classrooms are common in Sweet Home are more prevalent here than elsewhere. Blended classrooms can be useful if they are created for instructional purposes, but they’re blended for financial reasons in Sweet Home.
Sweet Home already has 60 fewer full-time equivalent positions than it had five years ago, Schrader said.
“As we’re going through the process and facts are being thrown out there, I want to make sure they’re good sound facts, and people understand them,” said Chanz Keeney, board member.
For example, the decrease in staffing is tied to more than just budget cuts, he said.
Strong said decreasing enrollment and increasing Charter School enrollment have also played a role in those reductions as well as budget cuts. Foster School’s grant-funded after-school program also is part of that figure, and the grant expired.
Schrader said Keeney raised a good point.
“The $6.895 billion is really still lower than what the Quality Education Model pushes for schools,” Schrader said. That calls for about $8 billion.
Sweet Home will receive about $16 million from the State School Fund this year, Strong said. It also receives about $700,000 in Title I funding from the federal government and nearly $400,000 in IDEA funding for special education.
“No matter how heroic the efforts of Sweet Home’s staff members, higher class sizes and fewer days means less individual attention and a negative impact on student performance,” Schrader said. “This holds true especially for students who receive specially designed instruction, interventions and or other support.”
Schrader and Strong have been visiting schools to hear what staff thinks are priorities this year. So far, they have heard from Foster, Hawthorne and high school staff.
Among the priorities are closing the achievement gap and improving performance, class size relief, increasing library media, attendance boundary realignment, more school counselors, art and music, pre-kindergarten programs, energy efficiency, revisiting the four-day week, textbooks and e-books, improving supplies and resources, improving services for struggling students, comprehensive athletic programs, improving technology infrastructure, professional development time, parent outreach and reviewing the grade process.
Schrader said any reductions, if necessary, should support academic achievement for all students and be safe, sustainable, operationally sound and legally compliant.
If the district decides to return to a five-day school week, Schrader said, then the board, Budget Committee and district will need to figure out how to offset the cost, which is estimated right now at about $340,000.
Schrader said he is planning to release a survey in about a week among staff and through schools as well as posting the survey on the district’s website regarding the four-day school year, which started this year. The district will also tweet comments asking for opinions about the four-day week.
Preliminary information shows no gains or declines in student achievement, Schrader said. Many factors affect student achievement, but the district will collect test scores and analyze the differences between last year and this year.
“If we show an increase in scores, I don’t know we can say it’s the four-day week,” Schrader said. “We’ve done so many things.”
And the district will continue those practices regardless of whether it has a four-day or five-day school week, he said.
Some teachers say they feel rushed, he said, while another says she is much further ahead of last year. Others have said it affects students who don’t have many resources at home, losing a day out of their school week.
On the other hand, the district had 21 weeks with a five-day schedule and 16 weeks with fewer than five days last school year, Schrader said. This year, the weekly schedule has been much more consistent.
During their school visits, Schrader said he did not hear many comments about the four-day week, but he heard at least one at each school so far.
Regardless of its impact on education, the savings from the four-day week is real, Schrader said.
The district will hold its first budget meeting on April 29. Between now and then, Schrader is planning a couple of community meetings for public input about the budget.