Our charge is critical. Over 4,000 children are enrolled in Oregon Trail Schools, and those children deserve to thrive.  Our 2012-2013 proposed budget was developed with this key focus in mind - We will leverage our resources to move children forward academically.

We will continue our aim to:

·         Create the conditions for children to thrive – a supportive environment for teaching and learning,

·         Provide the essential skills necessary for students to perform academically and compete globally,

·         Provide access to rigorous, relevant, robust and reliable educational experiences,

·         Begin earlier to provide a foundation of learning for pre-K children,

·         Provide appropriate academic interventions, and most importantly,

·         Eliminate the barriers that stifle creativity by growing the teaching and learning culture while encouraging our educators to take risks and innovate.

How will we manage to move forward with this focus? Our 2012-2013 proposed budget reflects practical deliberations and difficult choices. We have a mutually respectful and collaborative relationship with our employee groups. We have our eyes on the target, and we know that operating our schools during these difficult times takes a realistic, concerted effort. 

Addressing economic instability

Oregon’s public education system has seen its share of economic instability. Annual revenues have been essentially flat since 2007-2008. Couple that flat-funding with escalating expenditures and the result is a fiscal deficit. Fortunately, Oregon Trail and its members have strategically addressed prior deficits by implementing a combination of retirement/resignation incentive programs, pay freezes, furlough days, and by spending down cash reserves.  Implementing the incentive program in 2009 limited the number of layoffs that would typically be necessary to address a budget shortfall; but even with that creative measure, we have lost more than 80 employees since, resulting in a struggle to preserve our comprehensive program offerings.

Our 2012-2013 proposed budget reflects a deficit of $1.3 million, and continues to spend-down our cash reserve.  This is not a sustainable option.  With the economic times being what they are, maintaining a viable budget is a perpetual concern. That process does not stop with this budget proposal. State school funding is outside our control, but to keep our focus on students, we will continue to collaborate with our employees to mitigate what we can – our expenditures.  Looking forward we will continue to examine elements of our current practice that have previously been held whole; comprehensive high school model, middle school and high school athletic offerings, transportation, and school scheduling.  We will move deliberately and cautiously to continue to focus on our children’s academic future.