Sisters schools to add back five days with ‘break even’ budget

If the Legislature comes through with as much money as now expected, Sisters schools will have a no-cuts budget for 2005-06.

It will be able to add five instructional days to the calendar, days that were cut this year because of budget restrictions. And it will add one English teacher to relieve a little of the classroom overcrowding at the high school.

Superintendent Ted Thonstad gave the 10-member school budget committee that overview at its first meeting on the 2005-06 budget Monday night. The committee consists of the school board and five appointed members.

“The big thing is that we don’t have to go through this and make a lot of cuts,” Thonstad said. “Sisters will be in pretty much of a break-even situation if the Legislature adopts the $5.25 billion budget the governor recommends.”

The governor’s school-spending recommendation lies between the current House proposal, which is a little lower, and a higher Senate proposal.

Using that assumption about the outcome of the debate in Salem, general fund revenue for Sisters schools will rise 9.2 percent to $9.58 million. That includes a $200,000 transfer from the PERS reserve fund and use of a $244,000 beginning balance. It projects an ending fund balance of only $100,000.

The superintendent’s proposal leaves unspecified room for possible salary and benefit improvements for teachers and classified personnel, who are bargaining for whole or partial new contracts for the coming year.

In his printed budget message, Thonstad said his proposal leaves several unmet needs: “First, we were unable to fund adding teachers to reduce class size in the fifth and sixth grades (estimated at $124,000) or increasing electives at the high school to enhance the educational program as well as reduce the number of students being released (projected at $23,000).

Second, we were unable to fund replacement and installation of new servers for the technology system in order to expand capacity and eliminate the high likelihood of the system crashing ($57,600)…Finally, we were unable to begin building a reserve fund that would allow the district to deal with unanticipated staffing needs and mid-year cost increases.”

School Board Chairman Glen Lasken noted that the local option levy will provide an estimated $877,000 next year, roughly 9 percent of general fund revenue.

“We would be in terrible shape without it,” he said. “The committee needs to say ‘Thank you very much’ to the voters.”

The budget committee will meet next on June 6.