News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
Sisters school officials are closely watching the roll of the education budget dice in Salem.
If the numbers stay stuck around $4.6 billion in Governor John Kitzhaber's proposed budget, Sisters schools face more cuts to an already depleted budget.
But if the state Legislature allocates something closer to the $5.1 billion advocated by education lobbyists, local schools could get a much needed shot in the arm and return to a level of financial stability they haven't experienced in several years.
Sisters schools have $5,939,480 in the general fund for 1998-99. Under the governor's proposed budget, Sisters would have $5,947,870 next year, a boost of only $8,390. At the same time, the district faces new expenditures of about $100,000 due to a statewide legal settlement regarding the Public Employees Retirement System, according to schools Superintendent Steve Swisher.
A worst case scenario, according to Swisher, where funding comes in too low to cover the PERS costs, could force the schools to lay off as many as three teachers. The layoffs would likely impact teachers on "temporary" status, Swisher said.
But the superintendent is not taking the gloomy view. He expects the final budget to be higher, although, he said, "that's a craps shoot; I don't know how much higher."
The Confederation of Oregon School Administrators has said the schools need a minimum of $4.76 billion just to keep up with inflation and student increases. A subcommittee of that organization, the Coalition for School Funding, has asked for $400 million more than the governor's $4.6 billion budget.
Swisher noted an apparent groundswell of support in the Legislature for increased school funding, which might push the final figure closer to $5 billion.
If funding goes that high, "we'll be able to pull ourselves out of the hole, have a contingency fund, be able to address issues and need here," Swisher said. "If it's $4.76 billion, we'll break even, barely."
Breaking even means continuing with staff shortages in some areas, operating without a cash reserve and living in fear of drops in enrollment that mean reductions in state funding.
While Swisher doesn't hold out too much hope of a sudden flood of state dollars, he does believe Sisters will get past the break-even mark.
"I think we'll get enough in the budget, hopefully, to get just above scraping by," he said.
Unfortunately for those crafting the budget, they probably won't know for sure how much money will be available before the budget is decided. The Sisters School District's budget must be completed by June 30. In past years, legislative sessions have run into July or August.
Swisher acknowledged that the Sisters Schools Foundation has provided critical help in weathering the past few tight budget years, providing money for equipment and supplies that went begging in the general fund.
"You're talking well into the $200,000 - $300,000 for things," Swisher said. "We'd be pretty strapped, our classrooms would be pretty bare of materials without the foundation."
In fact, working with the foundation - fund-raising, encouraging donors, raising awareness - is an important way parents can impact the quality of their children's education when the process seems so far removed in the Legislature.
Swisher also recommends direct assistance to the schools through volunteering in classrooms. And parents can always write letters and make phone calls to lobby legislators.
All of these contributions add up to a Sisters community that is highly supportive of education, Swisher believes.
"If nothing else happens, we'll manage because of that," he said.
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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