A parent and student speak with nutrition services at the Family Empowerment Center's Back to School Event. (Staff file photo)

An important season has arrived in the West Linn-Wilsonville School District.

Superintendent Kathy Ludwig presented the proposed budget for the 2025-26 school year during the Monday, May 5 school board meeting. The district proposes a total budget of $265,991,820, which reflects $15 million in budget cuts and staff reductions that were announced last year by the district.

The estimated budget cuts include 59 classroom teacher positions and 14 non-classroom positions, including librarians and teaching assistants.

“Making reductions in a school district is heartbreaking, complicated and impacts all members of the school community: students, staff, families. We recognize that some of our valued staff will have lost positions in our district after devoting considerable talent, time, heart, soul and passion. We are indebted and grateful to their service and their positive impact on our students,” Ludwig said in the budget message. “We are hopeful that future openings will allow them to rejoin the district. We recognize that other educators in our district will have different assignments next year than this last year.”

The budget is distributed across the general fund, special revenue fund, debt services fund and capital projects fund. The total is $10.5 million greater than last year’s budget and reflects the proposed $11.36 billion State School Fund for the 2025-2027 biennium.

Oregon’s public schools are mainly funded by the State School Fund, which is formulated to achieve equal per-student funding across the state. Student enrollment is a weighted factor in the school fund formula, as well as local property tax revenue.

The district’s school fund allocation for next school year will be $68,548,678. When combined with local property tax revenues, projected local option levy revenues and education service district allocations, the total revenue for next year is $143.9 million. Costs would exceed revenues by an estimated $7.6 million for next school year. Currently, the district estimates $14 million in carry-over ending fund balance.

This will leave the district with a $6.4 million ending fund balance for the 2026-27 school year with a $1 million contingency.

“I wish to recognize and thank our community’s generosity demonstrated in countless ways: volunteering in schools and at events; donating time and resources; and, providing expertise as guest teachers and mentors. We thank our parent leaders with our PTA/PTOs and booster clubs for their generous hours of service. This year several parents worked to re-launch the West Linn-Wilsonville Schools Foundation, reigniting interest and advocacy for additional funding for teachers. We thank our entire school community for supporting Local Option Levies and Capital Bonds,” Ludwig said in the message.

Before the superintendent presented the annual budget message, she discussed the priorities from the community budget survey responses. Almost 90% of respondents wanted the district to prioritize restoring teaching positions that were eliminated and 55.8% prioritized returning classroom support staff such as specialists and paraeducators.

She added that without advocacy and additional revenue at the state level, school districts such as West Linn-Wilsonville would continue to face financial challenges.

“It is imperative to restate that an outdated State School Fund calculation method and subsequent inadequate K-12 school funding allocations cannot continue in Oregon,” said Ludwig.

The next budget committee meeting will be held Monday, May 19, with a period for public comment.