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Superintendent outlines $5.9 million shortfall, flags risk of 60–65 FTE reductions
Summary
Superintendent Dr. Udo Senatad told the Tigard‑Tualatin School Board that the district faces a $5.9 million budget gap and may need to consolidate the equivalent of 60–65 full‑time positions, while pursuing attrition and other measures to limit layoffs.
Superintendent Dr. Udo Senatad told the Tigard‑Tualatin School Board the district’s budget outlook has worsened since the start of the school year and now shows a $5.9 million gap to resolve.
“After we've settled our collective bargaining agreement and we've shored up our finances internally, we're now looking at that a number of $5,900,000 that we need to resolve,” Dr. Udo Senatad said during his monthly communications to the board.
The superintendent said the likely adjustments will focus on staffing: “There's gonna have to be some form of consolidation of staffing to the tune of 60 to 65 positions,” he said, adding that those numbers refer to reductions in full‑time‑equivalent (FTE) positions rather than a literal count of people.
Why it matters: the district must close the shortfall without drawing down reserves as it did in previous years, Dr. Senatad said. He described an approach that aims to protect classroom services by using attrition, vacant positions and other non‑layoff measures where possible. “We will do everything we can to accomplish these reductions through attrition,” he said, listing retirements and vacancy savings as preferred options.
Board members and staff described several next steps. The district will convene community budget workshops to explain the process and solicit input on priorities. Dr. Senatad said the district will pursue a system‑level approach intended to avoid repeating shortfalls each year, and pledged to keep communication frequent and transparent.
Other context: the superintendent traced the shortfall in part to the end of one‑time federal pandemic aid that funded many temporary positions. “We used a lot of that funding to hire,” he said. Those positions are now harder to sustain within the ongoing general fund.
Board members asked for more detail on which staffing areas might be affected and emphasized a desire to prioritize student‑facing roles. Dr. Senatad said specifics will emerge as the district finalizes a service model and that staff will present options to the board before any final decisions are made.
The district scheduled community budget workshops in the coming days and said it will provide updated projections and an opportunity for public feedback before taking final action.
