Oregon Public Broadcasting

Not all Oregon school districts will avoid budget cuts next year, even though voters approved tax measures in January. Beaverton’s budget woes may even lead to lost jobs.

Beaverton’s budget shortfall shrank by $19 million, thanks to the passage of Measures 66 and 67. But the district still proposes cutting another $8 million plus from the budgets of schools and the district office.

Beaverton schools’ chief financial officer, Claire Hertz, says the cuts are small, in the context of a $290 million budget. But she says they will cost jobs.

“There will be some staffing positions that will be reduced both in our central offices and in our school. Most of it, we’re hoping, will be through attrition,” Hertz said.

In other words, district leaders hope that enough teachers and other staff retire, or move away, that layoffs will be minimal.

A recent survey by a state advocacy group found that about one-third of Oregon school district leaders expect to make cuts, even with the passage of the tax measures.