Budget

March 5, 2010

Much of the past three months has been focused on projecting a budget for the 2010-11 school year. The status and details of that work is described below. HOWEVER, this morning the district received additional bad news regarding revenue for the remainder of this year. Our State School Fund estimate for the current year (2009-10) dropped by approximately $460,000. This decrease is mainly due to our rapidly declining enrollment. We have nearly 100 students less than what was projected for this school year.

With great regret, I am implementing another spending freeze on materials and supplies starting now and going through the remainder of the school year. There will be some grant funds that will need to be expended or we forfeit the funds, but all expenditures will need district authorization. Certainly, purchases related to health and safety of students will continue to be authorized.

Budget Shortfall

Superintendent Parent and staff have been working the past several months on budget projections for the 2010-11 school year. Although the budget outlook is still not "rosy," two recent events have decreased the projected shortfall. Voters passed both Ballot Measures 66 & 67, which will allow us to keep $1.5 million already allocated in the 2009-11 biennium. In their special session of the Oregon Legislature, legislators guaranteed $6.0 billion for the biennium by tapping necessary reserve funds. With these two positive events, South Lane School District's shortfall has been decreased to $1-1.2 million for the 2010-11 school year.

Declining Enrollment and Increasing PERS

Another significant factor affecting the district's budget is declining enrollment. Since 2004 the district has lost more than 150 students. This results in a nearly $1 million shortfall in State School Fund revenue. Beginning with the 2011-12 school year, the district will have the additional burden of a large increase to the percentage of PERS paid by the employer.  

Ideas for Balancing Budget

School district staff and the South Lane School Board have been discussing options for balancing the 2010-11 budget. These discussions have included the possibility of closing one or more small schools. At the school board meeting on March 1, 2010 the school board directed Superintendent Parent to prepare a cut list without closing a small school and present that list for their review at the April 5, 2010 board meeting. Superintendent Parent met with all principals and supervisors this past week to get input on possible cuts at each school site and department within the district. That "draft" list will be made public at the April board meeting.  

What's Next?

The official budget committee meeting will be held on Monday, May 10th. The budget committee is responsible for approving a budget that is then sent back to the board for final adoption on June 7, 2010. Additional meetings may be scheduled if needed. As usual, if you have input regarding the budget cuts please feel free to submit your ideas to Superintendent Parent or the school board.

The State of Oregon and the United States are in the midst of a recession that is unlike anything seen since the depression. Unemployment in Lane County is over 14% and rising. The State of Oregon is currently $3 billion short of the needed revenue for the 2009-2011 biennium and many believe that number will grow to $5 billion before the close of the biennium. South Lane School District was forced to make mid-year reductions in December 2008 of nearly $1 million due to the decrease in State School Fund support. These mid-year reductions included cutting six days from the 2008-2009 school year. Early projections suggest the State School Fund allocation for 2009-2011 will be more than $800 million less than the 2007-2009 biennium.

South Lane School District has been engaged in a budget development process for the past six months and the process has included numerous opportunities for community and staff input regarding the 2009-2010 proposed budget. In February, the school board hosted a community forum regarding the budget and over 200 citizens attended the event. A web-based community survey was offered in March with nearly 400 responses received. Parent Clubs, Site Councils, and Staff have offered suggestions and ideas for reducing the budget. Although the budget outlook is very grim, most everyone has stepped up and been willing to do what they can to get students through this difficult time.

The district has been meeting regularly with both the classified and licensed associations regarding wages and benefits for the 2009-2010 school year. The district believes strongly in treating employees fairly and has rarely had to ask for cut backs in order to balance the budget. These are unprecedented times and the associations have willingly offered their share to help balance the budget. Although not yet ratified, both associations are rolling back wage increases by 2.35% and cutting six days from the 2009-2010 school year for a total reduction in wages of 5.55%. In addition, all administrators and supervisors have agreed to freeze their salary schedules at the current level for 2009-2010.

Co-Chairs of the Ways and Means Committee - Proposed Budget

The Co-Chairs of the Ways and Means Committee of the Legislature released their proposed budget for the 2009-2011 biennium at 3:00 p.m. on Monday.

During the 2008-2009 school year, significant mid-year reductions were made to the budget due to shortfalls in state revenue. These reductions included six (6) days cut from the school year, layoffs, reductions in hours for some employees, and not filling staff vacancies. Approximately $1,036,000 was reduced from the 2008-2009 budget during the last six months of the year. With the exception of cut days, these reductions have also been eliminated from the 2009-2010 budget.

The South Lane SD would like community input on how to further reduce the 2009-2010 budget. Until the Oregon State Legislature determines the 2009-2011 budget, it is difficult to determine South Lane’s exact deficit. However all indications point to a severe reduction in the upcoming school year. Based on current state numbers, your task is to generate a list of cuts totaling $2.5 million in order to balance the budget. The survey will present you with a list of items, average cost per item, and an explanation of the current status associated with that item. Your task it to identify items you would recommend cutting and how much of each item. Keep going until your list reaches $2.5 million. The staff costs represented on the chart include the salary, payroll taxes, PERS, and insurance for the position.

SURVEY CLOSED - THANK YOU FOR YOUR INPUT

March 17, 2009

At the regular School Board meeting on Monday, March 16th, the South Lane School Board took action to cut three additional days from the remainder of the 2008-2009 school year. This action was necessary as state revenue fell an additional $713 Million in the March revenue forecast. South Lane's share of the cuts (after the state applied $115.4 Million in Federal Stimulus Funds) is approximately $285,830 for the remainder of the school year. Each day cut from the school year saves the district about $90,000. The School Board supported the Licensed Association's proposal to cut the following days:

• Monday, March 30th
• Wednesday, June 10th
• Thursday, June 11th

In today's edition of the Sentinel (March 11, 2009), it was incorrectly reported that the School Board made a decision on the days to cut for the remainder of the 2008-09 school year.

Over the past three days, there has been much media coverage about the economic situation in our state. I'd like to take a few moments to recap what we know at this point and update you on the possible impact in our district.

Oregon's dramatic revenue decline has filled the news over the past few days. Many of you are wondering about what this news means for South Lane. In spite of the fact that our district was ahead of many districts in making reductions at the end of November, additional, significant reductions are likely. 

Budget Task Force Meeting Minutes

January 22, 2009

Superintendent Parent welcomed 22 members of the Superintendent's Budget Task Force to its first meeting on January 22, 2009 at the school district office.

The Purpose of the Budget Task Force is to develop a cross-district team that:

While Oregon is often slow to feel the effects of economic downturns, the current economic recession has finally hit home.  In the face of dramatic declines in state revenue forecasts, Governor Ted Kulongoski in late November imposed an unusual mid-year budget reduction on state funded agencies, including school districts.  Within the South Lane School District, this reduction created a deficit of about $750,000 in our general fund budget for the 2008-09 school year.

Superintendent Krista Parent appointed 22 district staff members to work over the next four months on the development of the 2009-2010 Proposed Budget. The purpose of the Task Force is to generate ideas for dealing with the difficult economic climate and examining ways to reduce expenditures throughout the district. The first meeting of the Task Force will be held on Thursday, January 22nd at 1:00 in the school district office at 455 Adams Ave. For more information about the Task Force and a schedule of the open public meetings download the attached file. 

Dear South Lane Staff Members,

After much discussion last night the South Lane School Board approved the proposed list of mid-year reductions. The reduction list is attached. District Administration is working hard (along with association leadership) to determine layoff procedures and to reassign some staff members to new positions and/or new buildings. The majority of reductions will go into effect on December 20th. Again I apologize for the serious disruption to educating our students and I know that everyone will step up to the challenge and provide the very best we can for our students.