Schools face larger classes, fewer teachers

Fewer teachers will teach larger classes in Sisters schools next year, due to a shortfall in state funding.

School administrators calculate that costs in increased salaries and in operational expenses such as fuel will outstrip state funding by about $250,000 in the 2000-01 school year. That means cuts in staff and probably in some programs.

"I think there will be fewer teachers and classified staff," said schools superintendent Steve Swisher. "Class sizes will be larger and there will be fewer programs."

The district seems to have escaped a separate funding crisis. The state Department of Revenue announced Friday, March 17, that it will fully correct an error in county tax revenue reporting that left the district short $260,000 in state funding for this year.

But the deeper, more fundamental budget problems remain and Swisher warns that, if cuts aren't made immediately, even deeper cuts will have to be made next year.

The state provides the largest portion of school budgets on a per student basis, at close to $5,000 apiece. Growing districts are secure under this system. If they grow by 50 students, their funding goes up by $250,000 and it only costs about half that to hire teachers to teach the additional students and provide other services.

But the funding system leaves districts like Sisters vulnerable. The enrollment in Sisters, while it is up this year, has been relatively flat over the past decade. Any enrollment decline can have a major impact on staffing and funding.

If Sisters loses 20 students, it costs the district $100,000 and two or three teachers have to be laid off to make up the difference. According to Swisher, a single layoff at the elementary school results in larger class sizes throughout the school.

Even if enrollment is steady, as long as funding stays fixed at the state level, districts are doomed to fall behind. Salary costs tend to go up each year as teachers receive step increases in their pay (until they reach the top of the scale).

Basic costs of running and maintaining a bus fleet, heating and cooling buildings and buying supplies also tend to rise.

The Sisters School District has little room to maneuver. The district spent down its $800,000 reserve "savings account" over the past seven years, in order to meet labor contract demands and to stave off cuts.

The district now has only an $80,000 contingency fund with which to meet emergencies.

The budget commitee begins deliberations April 10 and must complete a budget by June 30.

Author Bio

Jim Cornelius, Editor in Chief

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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