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The Nugget Newspaper
Sisters, Oregon
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The contents of the on-line edition of The Nugget represent a selection among the stories that appear in the weekly print edition.

Sisters schools could face spending cuts
By Jim Cornelius

Sisters schools stand to lose about $495,000 if Governor John Kitzhaber's budget vetoes stand and voters reject a school funding measure in September.

School superintendent Steve Swisher told The Nugget he believes the vetoes will be overridden when the legislature meets in special session on Friday, August 16.

Kitzhaber argues that the legislature's budget plan is fiscally dishonest and dodges difficult political decisions about funding state services, including education.

Swisher said that most if not all Oregon school superintendents believe Kitzhaber is correct in terms of good public policy.

However, Swisher said, "ultimately that doesn't mean that it's the right thing at this moment for schools."

Swisher acknowledged that settling for the legislature's budget fix and hoping for a more permanent school funding solution may be simply delaying a deep crisis for schools. That, he argues, is better than the certainty that next year's students will suffer from larger class sizes and possible program cuts.

Swisher described the question as, "Do you bet on the one that's for sure going to happen or do you try to put it off as long as you can."

The Sisters School District has set up three tiers of cuts in case funding falls short of the budget. The district has already initiated $50,000 in cuts through foregoing the purchase of supplies and technology items and conserving on power bills and the like.

Future cuts are almost certain to involve layoffs.

"We're about out of 'things,'" Swisher said.

Layoffs would result in an increase in class sizes and, if cuts go deep enough, the loss of some programs. There is a statewide push to consider cutting back the school calendar.

However, Swisher cautioned, "that is certainly something that needs to be discussed with our employees through the bargaining process."

While Sisters has about $230,000 at stake in the vetoes, there is another $265,000 at stake in Ballot Measure 19, which is on the September 17 ballot. The measure is a scaled-back version of a similar failed measure to create a so-called "Rainy Day Fund" for schools.

Swisher thinks Measure 19 has a better chance of passing than the old Measure 13, because it takes a smaller amount from the Education Endowment Fund and offers better provisions for making the fund grow.

The cuts facing Sisters schools are severe, but not as dire as they would be without the local option tax funds passed by Sisters voters in 2000.

Local option has put an infusion of more than $600,000 into Sisters schools, most of which was dedicated to reducing class sizes. Other funds were dedicated to maintaining infrastructure and purchasing textbooks.

Swisher is grateful that that money is there to preserve the budget, but he observed ruefully that local option was designed to put Sisters schools ahead of the financial game. Instead, it has mostly enabled Sisters to avoid losses.

The Sisters School Board will discuss the financial picture at the Monday, August 19 meeting -- after the legislature's actions on August 16 make the situation clear.

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