News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
Sisters teachers, coaches and administrators face a long summer of wielding the budget knife to balance the schools' budget in the face of a $400,000 shortfall.
On June 8, the schools' budget committee approved a budget that tightens the belt in all areas of the schools' program. The school board, whose members all serve on the budget committee, will hold a public hearing on the budget on Monday, June 22.
Drastic as the $400,000 cuts are, the committee acknowledged that they are betting on increased enrollment next year and that taxes will come in somewhere near what has been projected.
If those things don't happen, still more cuts will be required, even including large-scale layoffs.
"There's no doubt that we're gambling in some ways," said budget consultant Janet Cruikshank of the county Educational Service District. "The thing that you must keep in mind is that this district is broke. We have no money."
The proposed cuts mean there will be one less teacher at the elementary school, one less at the middle school, and 2.5 teaching positions cut at the high school.
The co-curricular budget is cut by 10 percent, or $22,500, food services trimmed by $15,000, supplies cut back, extra time for councilors trimmed and technology expenditures reduced.
Sisters teachers will not give up one day of work to save an additional $25,000. The Sisters Education Association voted June 8 not to accept a one-day reduction in their contract with the district, which had been proposed by the budget committee.
SEA representative Kirk Albertson reminded the committee that the teachers took a four-day reduction last year. They were repaid for three days over the course of this year, but lost one day permanently.
"We do not believe that measures such as these are the answer for the district's long-term problems," Albertson said.
The association also passed a resolution recommending deeper cuts to the co-curricular budget. According to Albertson, while there is no official SEA position on what programs should be cut, many teachers would like to see a return to the "core" sports programs the district started with.
"While we support the presence of co-curricular programs as an important part of students' education, we believe that quality classroom instruction is the heart of our schools," Albertson said.
Coaches, teachers and administrators will meet throughout the next few weeks to determine how cuts to programs will be implemented. There may be some debate as to whether all sports programs should take a hit, or if specific programs have to go to soak up the $22,500 reduction proposed.
Administrators and teachers will have to juggle schedules to cover classes with reduced staff; class sizes will likely grow, especially in the upper grades.
Art teacher Mike Baynes expressed concern at the apparent assumption that the auto shop program will not be maintained when instructor Anthony Soto leaves.
He said the program serves many students who really need it to stay engaged in school.
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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