Portland Public Schools is bracing for a multimillion-dollar budget gap for the coming academic year, the result of an expected dip in state tax revenues as the coronavirus pandemic batters Oregon’s economy.
Deputy Superintendent of Operations Claire Hertz said in mid-April the deficit may reach $60 million. For every $1 billion the state cuts, Hertz told the school board last week, the district expects to lose roughly $30 million in funding.
Gov. Kate Brown on Monday said Oregon agencies should brace for cuts of up to 17% as she anticipates the state’s budget shortfall may reach $3 billion.
Portland district officials say 100 teaching positions cost roughly $10 million to maintain. That’s about how much Portland Public Schools’ plan to furlough its employees for one day per week will save this year, easing the burden on officials in the budget office as they prepare the 2020-21 spending plan.
Though the district will feel sure financial pain, it is better positioned than most Oregon districts to keep teachers employed.
Voters have consistently approved and reapproved a local operating levy to supplement the per-student funding that all districts receive under the state funding formula.
This year, that local property tax is bringing in an estimated $96 million to fund 800 teaching positions. And unlike state funding, which is based largely on volatile personal income tax collections, property taxes are one of the steadiest forms of tax revenues available.
Although Hertz was reticent to identify areas where the state’s largest district may trim as the state readies a May 20 budget forecast, she told the school board that personnel account for about 80% of expenses.
“This is a magnitude of a budget shortfall that will require severe reductions in our system,” Hertz said.
Even then, Hertz said, Brown may call a special session of the Legislature to address expected shortfalls in state revenue, which may alter how much the district will need to trim.
Nevertheless, state law requires Portland Public Schools to adopt a budget by June 30 even if a legislative session extends into the summer. The district may amend its spending plan after it’s approved by the school board.
Superintendent Guadalupe Guerrero was originally slated to propose a budget to the board on April 21. Now, that won’t happen until May 26.
The district pushed public input sessions, which will be conducted digitally, to June 11. They were originally supposed to begin this week.
“Budget cuts are going to be very tough on this community. We need to maximize this time to share their grief or losses,” school board member Julia Brim-Edwards said.
The Community Budget Review Committee will also delay its report to the school board, from May 19 to sometime during the week of June 9. The school board is expected to vote on a 2020-21 budget shortly afterward.
COVID-19 has forced districts across the state to perform an about-face from where their budgets were just months ago.
In January, the state Department of Education was accepting and processing districts’ applications for approximately $500 million in funding from a $1 billion per year corporate tax package the Oregon Legislature passed last year.
Portland was supposed to receive $39 million in Student Success Act funds. The district planned to hire dozens of teachers, counselors and school psychologists.
It remains to be seen how much of the corporate activity tax will bring in as business leaders across the state have pushed Brown to hold off on collecting. Late last month, the governor announced that businesses owing less than $10,000 will not have to pay until April 2021.
District spokeswoman Karen Werstein said it’s still too soon to tell just where Portland Public Schools will trim for the coming school year.
“We are still too far away to know the exact impacts yet,” she said, “and we will do everything we can to reduce the impact on classrooms and students.”
--Eder Campuzano | 503-221-4344 | @edercampuzano
Eder is The Oregonian’s education reporter. Do you have a tip about Portland Public Schools? Email ecampuzano@oregonian.com.
Subscribe to Oregonian/OregonLive newsletters and podcasts for the latest news and top stories.
Oregon’s education reporters are looking for parents who would like to speak with a journalist about the effects coronavirus is having on families across the state. Would you like to chat with one of us? Fill out this form.
"impact" - Google News
May 12, 2020 at 06:52AM
https://ift.tt/2SVJl32
Coronavirus impact on state budget has Portland Public Schools bracing for ‘severe’ cuts - OregonLive
"impact" - Google News
https://ift.tt/2RIFll8
https://ift.tt/3fk35XJ
Bagikan Berita Ini
0 Response to "Coronavirus impact on state budget has Portland Public Schools bracing for ‘severe’ cuts - OregonLive"
Post a Comment