Sisters schools hit with surprise cash crunch

An emergency cash shortfall has hit the Sisters School District, and all employees, from the superintendent on down, will take a five-day pay cut to help balance this year's budget.

Some of those days may be made up in the next fiscal year, after July 1.

According to schools Superintendent Steve Swisher, the district received notice last week from the State of Oregon that the final payment from the State School Support Fund would be less than anticipated.

After an "intense review" of the numbers, Swisher said the district had an "emergency" deficit of about $237,454.

There were two main causes of the shortfall, according to Swisher. About $147,000 was lost because, for about a year and a half, the Sisters District received state support for 24 students who were being sent to Sisters from the Black Butte School District in Camp Sherman.

The Black Butte School District was also receiving state support for those students, and was paying tuition to the S

isters School District. Sisters was not entitled to claim the state support.

"This was a compounding problem from the past that we are trying to correct at the present time," Swisher said of the average daily membership (ADM) miscalculation.

Another $90,000 was lost due to what Swisher called "compression." This is a reduction in the amount the state distributes per student because the number of students state-wide increased relative to the amount of state money available.

By law the schools need to run on a balanced budget. Therefore, a way had to be found to slash costs, immediately.

Swisher said that there was about $60,500 in the cash carry forward for this year. That money will be used to reduce the deficit. Swisher also ordered a halt to "all purchasing except for emergency situations for the remainder of this school year." This raised another $67,500.

Which still left the district short about $110,000.

"After the other cuts, the only place left is salaries," Swisher said. The district turned to the teachers (certified) and other workers (classified) for a plan. The district pays approximately $14,000 per day in salaries, plus about 25 percent in Social Security payments and retirement benefits, Swisher said. This totals about $17,500 per day.

Two days of salary were saved by moving the last day of school from June 5 to June 3, which still left the district in compliance with state minimum guidelines. Also cut was an in-service day scheduled for the end of the year after students were dismissed.

There was a "snow day," this year when school was closed. Staff had been paid for that day. Now they will not. Also, Memorial Day was scheduled as a paid holiday. It is now an unpaid holiday.

Staff was a strong participant in this plan, according to both Swisher and Kirk Albertson, chair of the contract negotiating team of the teachers union, the Sisters Education Association.

"Through all this they (staff) have been remarkably positive as a group and as individuals in terms of collectively helping solve the problem," said Swisher.

"It was a very gratifying process," Albertson said. "We sat down and listened to what Steve (Swisher) had to say and agreed this was a problem. We took it at face value. We bantered a lot of options around and (teacher) Marilyn Charles came up with this specific plan."

That plan allows some of the lost days to be made up in the next fiscal year, according to Albertson.

The Memorial Day paid holiday will instead be paid next December, before the Christmas break. The three days of work lost may be worked next year to help with curriculum development, or possibly tutoring students in need.

"They will not be used to come in and knock around the classroom," Albertson said.

Income from the snow day has melted away, however, and cannot be replaced.

Even these efforts leave the district short about $20,000, according to Swisher. The administration is looking at other options, such as deferring payment for purchases until after July, or speeding up receivables, to cover the difference.

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