News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
Class sizes in Sisters schools will drop next year if the proposed 1999-2000 budget holds fast.
The budget was adopted by the Sisters School Board on Monday, June 7.
Next year's kindergarten and first grade classes are expected to have a ratio of 20 students to each teacher. This year's two first grade classes have a ratio of 25:1, according to Sisters Elementary School secretary Kathy Perry.
Next year, there will be two first grade classes and one blended class of first and second graders, Perry said.
According to schools superintendent Steve Swisher, the rest of the classes through middle school should hold close to a 25:1 ratio, which also represents a reduction. Some classes this year have "bulged" up to 27 or 28 students, Swisher said.
The drop in class sizes in first grade are the result of federal funds "targeted" to reduce class size and will require the hiring of one teacher.
"That's what's making the difference in the first grade," Swisher said.
"Some of the state appropriation is expected to be targeted at reducing class size as well," Swisher noted.
The actual amount of the state appropriation remains unknown. The $6,866,667 Sisters School District general fund budget is based on the assumption that Governor John Kitzhaber's $4.95 billion education budget will be approved. The legislative leadership is proposing $4.76 billion.
"We'll probably see that $4.95 billion," Swisher said, "but the character of it ... is really the question."
The superintendent expects the money to come with restrictions on how it can be spent - specifically excluding spending on raising teacher salaries.
Targeted funds are directed toward facility maintenance, technology and class size reduction.
"I fully anticipate seeing those strings attached," Swisher said.
The Sisters budget includes a 1.5 percent cost-of-living increase across the board for all employees.
The school district is currently involved in contract negotiations with its employees.
Swisher does not expect the state's targeting of its funds to interfere with the pay raise -as long as no more than approximately $150,000 ends up spoken for.
"If our targeted dollars go beyond about $150,000, we run out of wiggle room," Swisher said.
The final numbers are likely to remain up in the air until mid-summer, Swisher said. The district will have to adjust its figures once contract negotiations and the final state appropriation are known.
"Even as we adopt this (budget), we full well know that, in the appropriations level, we will have to make adjustments," Swisher 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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