Illinois Valley News

Dan Huber-Kantola certainly has a lot on his mind these days.

During his stint as superintendent of Three Rivers School District (TRSD), Huber-Kantola has dealt with many issues, including continued declining enrollment at many of the district“s 14 schools.

In fact, his tenure has included the painful closures of schools in Applegate and Wolf Creek.

But the continued uncertainty surrounding state support for schools weighs heavily on the superintendent, in light of the $577 million budget deficit being faced by officials in Salem.

Lawmakers have opted to not hold a special session, and Gov. Kulongoski has plans to use his allotment authority to call for 9 percent budget reductions at all state agencies. That includes the Dept. of Education, provider of much funding to school districts throughout Oregon.

Huber-Kantola said that a 9 percent cut would amount to the loss of more than $2 million for TRSD.

Approximately 85 percent of TRSD“s budget is allocated toward personnel costs, including salary and benefits, he said. As such, the district has limited options.

“It“s basically impossible to cut that deep and not affect personnel,“ Huber-Kantola said.

Options for combating the shortfall include reducing the number of employees, reducing their compensation or eliminating up to 20 school days, Huber-Kantola said.

Further complicating matters is the fact that the district is in regular negotiations with three of its four union bargaining groups. The next round of negotiations will occur in August, he said.

TRSD reduced its number of teaching positions by 10 last year and four this year, he said, adding that $2 million is the equivalent of 26 teaching positions.

The timing of the budgetary complications also is troubling to Huber-Kantola, he said. TRSD received the final forecast on revenue for next year from the state on May 14, and based its budget on those figures.

Local officials had “no hint from anybody“ what was about to happen, he said. A similar situation occurred in May 2007, when the TRSD Budget Committee had to delay deliberations while the Legislature continued debate on education funding.

There are some spots of optimism, however. Federal legislation has been proposed in the form of S.3206, the Keep Our Educators Working Act of 2010, to help states prevent cuts in their school programs. That bill has faced some legislative setbacks, so Huber-Kantola said that its likelihood of passage is a “real unknown.“

A new revenue forecast is to be released by the state in November. Huber-Kantola said that the revenue figures could change as a result, but that TRSD still will plan for the worst.

“We“re planning as if that $2 million is going to be gone,“ he said.

In the long-term, the district“s enrollment is projected to level off around 2012, reversing the decline of the past few years.

“At that point, it becomes more stable. But that doesn“t help the problem,“ Huber-Kantola said. “We will still have a couple more years of declining enrollment.“

He added that attending the three recent graduation ceremonies for TRSD high school students helped him cope with the negativity surrounding a grim financial picture.

“It was a good reminder of why we fight and struggle to do the best we can with what money they give us,“ noted Huber-Kantola. “It doesn“t get any better than that.“

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