The Silver Falls School District finance team gave the school board a high‑level briefing on budget law, revenue sources and growing cost pressures at a work session, emphasizing the district's limited control over revenues and the need to manage expenditures closely.

Tom (district finance director) reviewed Oregon budget law and the district's fund structure, telling the board that roughly 75% of the district’s budget is the general fund and that state school fund support and property taxes make up the largest revenue sources. "71% of the revenue is state support followed by 21% of the property taxes," he said.

Tom and Tabitha Welch, the district controller, identified several fiscal stress points: utilities have averaged double‑digit annual increases, fringe‑benefit costs (including PERS) have risen about 10% on average over the last decade, and state support increases have averaged roughly 4% year‑over‑year. "Utilities used to be 1.5% of our budget 10 years ago. It's now 3%," Tom said; the finance team cautioned those cost trends outpace typical revenue growth.

Why it matters: district expenditures are legally limited by appropriations through Oregon Revised Statutes Chapter 294; the presenters said that while revenues can exceed or fall short of projections, expenditures cannot legally exceed appropriated amounts. Tom explained the budget presentation format the district will use to help the board monitor year‑to‑date spending against appropriation categories and to project on a personnel/services/materials basis.

Enrollment and staffing: district leaders reviewed recent enrollment data and proposed staffing adjustments. The superintendent and Kevin (operations/transportation) told the board that updated counts show growth at Butte Creek and Robert Frost schools; the administration said current data indicate a probable recommendation to add one licensed teacher for Butte Creek and one classified aide at Robert Frost. "Butte Creek, on the other hand... the licensed teacher is not at Robert Frost. It's at Butte Creek. So it's one we need," the superintendent said.

Procurement and reserves: the controller described procurement thresholds and approval limits under Oregon rules: purchases under $25,000 encourage quotes but do not require them; procurements between $25,000 and $250,000 generally require three quotes; procurements $250,000 and above require a formal RFP. The superintendent can approve procurements up to $150,000; the board approves procurements above that threshold. The controller also noted the district established a capital reserve of about $500,000 this year.

Charter and food service funds: the finance team said the district collects a percentage for administrative services from local charter schools (noted as 19% and 20% under older negotiated agreements) and that the food services fund is running a deficit that will require a budgeted transfer from the general fund (an amount discussed by staff as about $600,000). Tom said staff brought a supplemental budget request earlier to true up agreed transfers and to move some functions in‑house as part of cost‑control efforts.

Reporting cadence and board information needs: board members asked about continuing to receive detailed line‑by‑line reports versus a simplified quarterly dashboard. Tom said he will continue to provide the detailed reports for now while exploring a regular dashboard that highlights appropriation categories and major expenditure ingredients. Several board members requested the finance team provide per‑pupil and weighted ADMw revenue figures and a full cost (salary plus fringe) per teacher and other positions for board members to review outside the meeting.

Next steps: staff will email requested per‑student revenue and teacher FTE cost details and will refine the monthly year‑to‑date summary and forecast reports to balance board needs for transparency and staff time.