We generally prefer starting our parenting column with something light and breezy, but then we saw a fentanyl education night had been slated for the Boys & Girls Club in Corvallis – it’s news that left us feeling a bit off-kilter.
But then, it shouldn’t have. We know our sweet little corner of Oregon has been impacted, maybe not like the rest of the state, but enough that our local institutions are seeking to raise awareness. Beyond the Boys & Girls Club, both the Corvallis School District and Benton County Sheriff’s office are listed as co-presenters.
The program is geared to parents and guardians, but Helen Higgins, the CEO of the Boys & Girls Club tells us, “We are also encouraging teens to come and hear firsthand the route that fentanyl takes to get into our community, how to identify it, the role of social media in use, and identifying a person that may be under the influence or in danger of overdosing.”
The program runs from 6 to 7 pm, Thursday, March 7 at the Boys & Girls Club of Corvallis. There’s free childcare for kids age 5 and up. If you click here to RSVP, they’ll be serving a dinner a half prior, at 5:30 pm.
Kindergarten Enrollment Now Open
If you have a kiddo hitting age five this fall, it’s time to enroll them in kindergarten – and congrats on that! It’s easy to do, either head to your student’s neighborhood school, or enroll them online.
Eligibility is for children hitting their fifth birthday on or before Sept. 15, 2024. And, if you are uncertain about which elementary school is your neighborhood school, you can check any address to see what boundary area it’s located in using the District Address Locator or by calling (541) 757-5811.
The District will need some information to complete your student’s enrollment:
- Proof of Address (only one document required)
- Proof of Age
- Immunization Record
- Educational Support Documentation
Don’t Skip Kindergarten Information Night: All K-5 elementary schools will offer a kindergarten information night on Monday, March 18, from 5:30 to 6:15 pm. These information nights are for incoming kindergarten families to visit their neighborhood school. During the school information night, school staff will discuss what life as a kindergarten student looks like and answer questions.
If you have questions about the kindergarten enrollment process, you can contact your boundary area school, the Corvallis School District administration office at 541-766-4700, or refer to the district’s website, www.csd509j.net/kindergarten.
What if your student needs a transfer: Families enrolling a kindergartner can request a transfer to a school outside their boundary area, but they have to enroll at their boundary area school first. Transfer requests will be accepted online for Corvallis residents from March 18 to April 1, 2024, and non-residents from April 15 to 29, 2024. The district says transfers are subject to grade-level enrollment and space limitations.
School Budget Shortfall, What it will Mean, How it Happened
If you regularly read this column, you already know Corvallis’ school district is anticipating a budget shortfall for next year – and now they’ve released a statement about what they believe is behind the deficit, and their preliminary plans to bridge the funding gap. Here’s what they’re saying…
Why the district has less funding: Decreasing enrollment – like most school districts in Oregon, the number of students in CSD schools is decreasing.
- The district has had decreased enrollment over the last five years, from 6,668 in 2018 to a projected 6,001 students in 2024.
- The district expects this to continue based on recent birth rates (how many children are born in Corvallis).
- State funding is based on the number of students in our district. Fewer students mean our district has less of this funding.
In addition to decreasing birth rates, the district’s enrollment is impacted by high housing costs and low availability of housing in Corvallis. Based on talking with local schools, the number of students enrolling in other local and private schools, online schools, and homeschool have not changed enough to account for the decrease in the district’s overall enrollment.
End of Temporary Pandemic Relief Funding: To support K-12 schools and address the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the federal government provided school districts with temporary funding. The district prioritized this funding for staff to reduce learning loss and support students’ social and emotional needs. This funding ends on June 30, 2024.
Increasing Costs & Staff Numbers: Seventy-five percent of our district spending supports staffing. Our staffing budget includes added staff for pandemic-related learning loss over the last four years and yearly salary and contract increases.
2024-25 Budget: The district does not have enough funding to cover current costs based on the funding for the next school year. Currently, the district predicts this deficit to be about $10.9 million. In order to maintain the reserves required by board policy, the district must reduce spending by $8.2 million.
Decisions about reduced spending are made with the following priorities:
- Goals for student outcomes drive the budget process
- Providing every student with equitable access and opportunities
- Using data to tell what is working and what is not
- Long-term strategic decisions instead of one-year decisions
- Review patterns of spending
Reductions: Currently, the district anticipates reducing its spending in the following ways:
- Reduce $2.8 million through class-size adjustments and reduced staffing
- Adjust class sizes to projected enrollment for next year
- Class sizes will be increased by one, returning to pre-COVID class sizes
- Reduce $4.6 million in district office department staffing and budgets
- Reduce $0.8 million through reduced school support staffing
- School support staffing are all non-classroom teacher staffing positions
The release says these reductions allow the district to minimize impacts at the building level and prioritize funding in the areas most critical to support student success and align with the district’s priorities.
Current Changes: The district communicated some of the first reductions for next school year to staff and specific school families last week. To address enrollment changes, these adjustments impacted administrative position at Mt. View Elementary, Crescent Valley High School, and the district office.
As further budget decisions and updates are made through the spring, we’ll keep you posted.
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