Tigard‑Tualatin SD 23J projects $10.7 million shortfall, proposes staff reductions and notifications under union timelines

Tigard‑Tualatin SD 23J finance staff told the school board at a work session that the district faces a projected budget gap of about $10,700,000 for upcoming years and is proposing a reduction plan that relies primarily on staff realignment and layoffs.

District staff said the shortfall stems from declining enrollment, constrained state school funding and rising personnel and nonpayroll costs, including higher Public Employees Retirement System (PERS) employer rates and insurance premiums. The district’s forecast incorporates the governor’s recommended state school fund allocation of $11,360,000,000 and assumes 49% recognition of that revenue in the first year; estimated total operating revenue for the next year is roughly $178.5 million.

The reduction plan presented to the board would close the gap largely through staffing adjustments. The district projects a reduction of about 64.02 licensed full‑time equivalents (FTE), of which 38 are instructional FTE derived by applying existing class‑size ratios to current enrollment; a net classified reduction of about…