Schools escape new round of cuts

The budget ax has fallen again. This time it missed the Sisters School District. A combination of stimulus monies from the federal government and a firm pledge from the governor and the Oregon State Legislature has given the school districts around the state, including Sisters, a little breathing room.

The Sisters School District can begin the school year with no fear of further budget cuts until December at the earliest. On August 27 Governor Kulongoski announced another $377.5 million shortfall in September revenue forecast. In the same press release he indicated that there would be no cuts to public school budgets during this cycle.

The next budget review is in December, followed by reviews in February and May. All indications are that further shortfalls are to be expected, and there are no guarantees that the school budgets will be spared beyond this cycle.

"The bottom line is this is basically bad news in that revenues continue to drop. If there were to be cuts immediately this would mean probable cuts of about $160,000 (for Sisters schools). Given the fact that this is also an election year I do not believe that there will be any initiative to try and find any solutions until after the election in November," said Jim Golden, the new Sisters schools superintendent.