News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
Coupled to a shortfall in basic school support from the state, the Sisters School District will have to lay off instructors and increase class size next year.
"At this point the school board will be meeting to review the situation and determine a course of action," said school board chair Bill Reed. "Our overcrowded situation still exists, and many items in the district are in need of maintenance or repair."
At the last budget meeting on Thursday, May 23, school business manager Earl Armbruster told the budget committee that the school district was basically out of cash.
In order to have a $100,000 contingency next year to cover any unforeseen expenditures from the approximately $5.5 million school budget, a physical education specialist and one instructor, both from the elementary school, will be let go.
The high school will not lose a teacher, but will see the number of teacher's aids decrease, and some of the aids now full-time will be cut to part-time to reduce benefits, according to middle/high school principal Dennis Dempsey.
At the same time, enrollment is expected to hit 610 next year based on present growth, up from 486 in 1994-95, Dempsey said.
In addition, there will be approximately $23,000 in cuts in cocurricular activities, according to Dempsey. This will be achieved through dropping the "pep band" contract, cutting $6,600 in cocurricular supplies and elimination of all nonconference travel, he indicated.
If teams need to travel to state competition, parents or students will have to provide their own transportation, he said.
"The other option was cutting wrestling and basketball, but finally that is a board decision," Dempsey said.
But the real pain will be felt at Sisters Elementary, with the loss there of a teacher, a P.E. specialist as well as teaching assistants.
The other option was cutting two teachers, but after analyzing the impact, principal Tim Comfort and elementary staff felt this would mean increased class size in 14 classes, as opposed to increased class size in eight classes by cutting one teacher and the P.E. specialist.
But students and parents will still notice the change.
"This will definitely have an impact on quality, with larger class size and less support," Comfort said. "The individual student will have to wait a little longer or not get as much guided individual practice as they have in the past."
There is currently an emphasis in education to including a wide range of abilities, with talented and gifted and disabled learners in the same classroom. This has advantages for some students, but requires more staff and aides to make sure everyone is getting the instruction they need.
"The teaching cuts won't end mainstreaming, but it will challenge us as to how we group our kids. There may be more grouping by ability," Comfort said.
The loss of the P.E. teacher will also require classroom teachers to cover the P.E. program. This will reduce the amount of time teachers have to prepare for classes, Comfort said.
When asked if the elementary school was taking the brunt of the cost-cutting measures, Comfort said that "we need to balance the needs of all kids, K-12. If we are cutting programs, we need to ask if we are balancing the sacrifice."
"Our staff will rise to the challenge, but it will be a lot more difficult. We would sure appreciate people coming to check the school out. We need to work as a community to keep the quality of schools people are used to around here," he added.
School board chair Bill Reed partially blamed the bond failure on the low turnout in this election.
"In the research the board was doing and the polling prior to the election, it appeared that well over half of the community was in favor of the bond proposal. However, they didn't go to the polls," Reed said.
"We plan on conducting an exit poll, a survey, to talk with voters who did not support the proposal to gather input," he concluded.
Reader Comments(0)