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How will the Beaverton School District budget shortfall affect our schools?

By now, you have likely heard that BSD discovered a $12 million deficit for the 2018-2019 school year. There were several reasons given for the situation, including increased maintenance costs, incorrect projections for various programs, and the impact of the Oregon Pay Equity legislation that was passed last year.

BSD Public Communications Officer Maureen Wheeler says, “We are in the process of trying to recover $8 million out of a $12 million deficit this school year. The District has identified several actions to reduce spending this year, that include the following:

Restrict substitute usage for non-classroom positions for an anticipated savings of $2M.

Reduce non-salary budgets by 20% for all schools and departments for an anticipated savings of $2.6M.

Reduce Teaching & Learning non-salary budget for Quality Curriculum Cycle and textbooks for an anticipated savings of $2.6M.

Freeze hiring for non-classroom positions for an anticipated savings of $800K.

“These actions will be implemented immediately but will not cover the entire projected shortfall. The balance of the shortfall for 2018-2019 will be carried forward to 2019-2020. To minimize disruption to schools, students and staff mid-year, the current year’s reductions do not include layoffs or a reduction in school days.

“These reductions will be difficult, but they are necessary to help balance the budget for the current year and not increase the cuts for the next fiscal year. There are no staff layoffs. Students will not see any change in the classroom.”

It’s unclear whether there may be layoffs next year.

We attempted to contact principals at several Cedar Mill schools to find out how these cuts were affecting their schools, but were referred back to Wheeler. Some schools may need to rely more on parent and community volunteers to fill the gaps. If you have kids in school, you might want to reach out to their teachers or get involved in your school’s parent group.

The BSD budget is reviewed and approved by the Budget Committee, which consists of the BSD Board and seven community members. Note that several BSD Board seats expire in June. The Washington County elections page shows that nobody has yet filed to challenge any of the incumbents.

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