News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
The Sisters schools have decided which temporary staff members must be cut because there are fewer students in Sisters classrooms.
The schools were forced to make the cuts after a drop in enrollment between September and December triggered a $101,188 shortfall in revenue. The cuts were mostly voluntary, and affected all three Sisters schools.
High school science teacher Jim Green has voluntarily retired as a permanent teacher, effective in the second semester. Green will continue to teach "a couple of sections in his specialty areas" during the second semester, according to a report from Superintendent Steve Swisher.
Temporary teacher Rob Riedinger will not return for the second semester, and part-time teacher Wendy Lathen also may not return. Lathen is currently teaching English courses in order to free other teachers to develop curriculum for the Certificate of Advanced Mastery program.
According to Swisher, Lathen could be retained if the school district receives grant funding from the Oregon Department of Education to continue CAM development.
Also at the high school, secretaries Connie Holly and Suzanne Lind have voluntarily cut back their hours by 20 percent.
Sixth grade temporary teacher Nicole Sieh voluntarily resigned rather than working a reduced schedule, Swisher reported.
Heidi Smith was reassigned from the elementary school to the middle school, though she will continue to serve one hour per day as a kindergarten assistant.
The kindergarten sessions were reduced from three to two, putting 24 students in each of the remaining sessions.
Temporary physical education teacher Debbie Meier also volunteered to give up eight contract days during the spring semester to work on her masters' degree.
Deeper cuts that would reach permanent teaching staff are possible if the declining enrollment trend continues. If that occurs, Swisher reported, other adjustments would be made by March 1.
The cuts were forced on the district by the loss of state school support funds. State school support funds are based on an enrollment figure of Average Daily Membership, which doesn't count tuition students from Black Butte School District and counts kindergarten students as one-half ADM.
The state provides approximately $4,500 per ADM per year.
This year's budget was based on an estimated ADM of 1,060. As of December, the actual ADM is 1,042. The downward adjustment of state funding based on that figure accounts for the shortfall.
Jim Cornelius is editor in chief of The Nugget and author of “Warriors of the Wildlands: True Tales of the Frontier Partisans.” A history buff, he explores frontier history across three centuries and several continents on his podcast, The Frontier Partisans. For more information visit www.frontierpartisans.com.
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