Oregon Public Broadcasting

Portland’s top school administrator said the state’s largest district won’t need to cut any programs or lay off teachers for next school year. But the longer term looks tougher. 


Superintendent Carole Smith’s budget is balanced, thanks to spending one-third of reserves. But Smith said the no-cuts budget also benefited from solid legislative funding, voter approval of two tax measures, and a settlement of the teachers’ contract.

Federal stimulus money will pay for thousands of teaching positions for next school year - including 324 jobs in Portland. But Smith pointed out that level of federal spending isn’t expected in the years to come. “We’ll be faced with some hard choices," she said.
 


Smith said that she chose not to make cuts now because the district had reserves to spend, and in part to “honor” the voters’ passage of tax measures in January. 
 


A recent survey by the Confederation of Oregon School Administrators found that about half of school districts were planning for a year like Portland’s – basically, status quo.