PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — The Beaverton School District is battling decreasing enrollment and lower-than-expected state funding for next year’s budget.
The district is proposing cutting 90 positions for the next school year.
This could be just the start of tightening the purse strings as enrollment across Oregon is declining. The growing problem in Beaverton — a shrinking enrollment
“We don’t know how to fix that, we just want to make sure that all of our students are getting the education they deserve,” said Lindsay Ray President of the Beaverton Education Association. “Enrollment declines are always a little worrying.”
Enrollment issues began to show during the first full school year of the pandemic (2020-21). Enrollment peaked at over 41,000 in 2019-20, but is expected to be just over 39,000 next school year. There are also expected to be 2,000 fewer students over the next two years.
For districts, fewer students mean less money.
“We’re not changing our class size ratios for next year, but we are making reductions to be in line with the number of students we anticipate coming in,” said Michael Schofield, the Associate Superintendent of Business Services for the Beaverton School District.
The potential cuts come as the state legislature is proposing $400 million less than what districts across Oregon have called for. Schofield hopes lawmakers will meet schools in the middle.
“We will roll forward with our budget. We have adequate reserves at this point,” he said. “You can only use your budget for so long to pay your ongoing bills. So, at some point, we will have (the) right size according to the revenue we’re receiving.”
“Any reduction in positions that are serving our kiddos is too many, no matter what. And I’m hopeful we can impress upon the state that we can make that our funding is maintained,” Ray added.