Schools face loss of students

Sisters public schools will have fewer students next year.

Total enrollment may drop as much as 125 students. The decline affects all three buildings, the elementary, middle and high school. The decrease may reduce state funding for the district, not next year but the year following.

To some extent, the decline may be offset by an increase in enrollment in charter schools and Web-based homeschooled students, for which the district receives 20 percent in exchange for providing services (see related story, page 6).

It is impossible to determine in May exactly what the enrollment will be when all students show up in September.

According to Elementary Principal Jan Silberman, she is planning for another significant drop next year, from 386 students currently to 333. The elementary school started this year with an enrollment of 350, down from 422 the end of the 2006-2007 school year.

As a result, "The district has told us we will have to eliminate two (positions)," Silberman said. The "full-time equivalent" (FTE) of two full-time positions will be eliminated at the elementary school through attrition and by bringing back a teacher now on parental leave as half-time instead of full-time.

Third grade teacher Kelly Powell is leaving to become an elementary school principal in the Scappoose School District. His position will not be filled.

Julie Holden will return half-time instead of full-time. She will "job share" with another teacher, possibly Stephanie Jensen, who may take on part-time duties as a teacher of English as a Second Language, transferring half of her salary to a different funding source.

Silberman said that under a "job share" for teachers, "We would require half-day, with each teacher teaching the same subjects every day. You want to have consistency for the kids."

Dr. Kathy Miner, Principal of Sisters Middle School, said that she is planning on a drop of about 35 students. The incoming fifth grade has about 100 kids. The 8th grade class moving on to be Freshmen at the high school numbers 135.

This would result in a decrease from 441 students to about 406 at the middle school. Dr. Miner is simply "rolling over" her estimate of students that will become the sixth, seventh and eight graders from this year to next.

Miner said that she is budgeting for 0.8 FTE of a decrease in staffing as a result of the anticipated decline. This will result from dropping classes taught by part-time teachers brought in during a time when enrollment was growing.

"...three teachers who were part time, we had increased (their load) when we had a rapid increase in enrollment and we added classes, so I am reducing a 0.8 FTE, with three part-time teachers each dropping a class. That's normal in a small school," Miner said.

Bob Macauley, Principal of Sisters High School, said he is losing to graduation one of the largest classes, with a smaller freshman class coming in. He is planning for an enrollment drop of about 40 students, from 585 to 545.

Onsite staffing will actually increase, Macauley said, because of new state graduation requirements that take effect with this year's freshman class. Those requirements now mandate more Math and English than in years past. He is adding the equivalent of one full time teacher and about .6 of a classified position to handle "school to career" counseling and management.

Superintendent Elaine Drakulich said that in terms of revenue, the drop of enrollment at the high school will likely be offset by an increase in the number of "off-campus" students, those in charter schools and those being educated at home via Web-based education.

The State of Oregon provides funding to the school district in exchange for providing services, about 20 percent of the amount it would get if these students attended the school full time. Drakulich anticipates "off-campus" students to increase by about 230 students.

Therefore, the impact to the district of the loss of high school students will be negligible in terms of revenue, according to Drakulich, with the district receiving new funds from the state equivalent to 46 students, offsetting the loss of 40, if those numbers hold until September.

She said the state bases the dollar-per-student amount of its school support for a particular year on total state enrollment of the previous year. The total dollar amount the state sends the district is also based on "average daily membership" (ADM), the number of students going to school modified by factors such as special needs and second language needs of individual students. This ADM number for a given budget is also based on the previous year's actual ADM.

Therefore, the state is always a year late, with dollars provided this year figured on enrollment of last year, and dollars allocated next year based on this year's enrollment.

In any case, enrollment figures available in April or May represent only a current month's snapshot. The number of students showing up next September could be significantly different.