Albany district warns of state revenue shortfall after enrollment drop; officials say plans in place to cushion 2025-26

Superintendent Gardner told the Greater Albany Public School District board on Oct. 14 that Oregon’s projected revenue shortfall is prompting districtwide budget planning and possible spending reductions.

The superintendent said Governor Tina Kotek has asked state agencies to “reduce costs while protecting core services by sharpening our pencil, slowing spending, rethinking operations, delaying non‑critical investments, [and] suspend all non‑essential out‑of‑state travel.” The administration is preparing reduction scenarios so the district can respond if state funding is cut.

The district’s business manager, Jane Workman, presented the board with the district’s most immediate fiscal impacts. She said student counts on Oct. 10 fell from 8,756 in 2024–25 to 8,395 for 2025–26, a decline of 361 students. Because Oregon distributes some K‑12 funding by average daily membership, an out‑of‑cycle rebalancing by the Oregon Department of Education reduced the district’s basic school support by about $770,000, SIA funding by about $200,000 and high‑school‑success funding by about $100,000 — a total reduction of about $1,070,000. “We have just absorbed the million 70,” Workman told the board, saying the district used its beginning fund balance to avoid immediate program or staff cuts.

Why it matters: the state’s September forecast shows roughly a $370–$372 million shortfall in the biennium, equivalent to roughly 1 percent of Oregon’s $39 billion general fund. Gardner emphasized that the district is being asked to submit draft reduction options to the Legislative Fiscal Office by Nov. 3 so the state can include those figures in its November revenue forecast. The legislature is expected to consider any statewide rebalancing in February 2026.

Board members pressed staff for details about what future cuts might mean locally. A board member noted the district could face a roughly 1 percent reduction in state support in a proportional scenario and asked how that would translate to district dollars; staff said a 1 percent cut would be roughly $700,000–$800,000 for the district. Gardner said the district is meeting weekly with regional superintendents and ODE staff and will bring updated estimates to the board as they become available.

District officials also discussed which local funding streams are exposed. Workman said the district absorbed the ODE rebalancing by shifting FTE and grant resources into the general fund this fiscal year, and that the district’s current beginning fund balance allowed it to avoid immediate program or staffing reductions. But she warned that continued enrollment decline and further state cuts would make planning for 2026–27 more difficult: “I see lots of challenges… if the enrollment continues to reduce,” she told the board.

Staff emphasized near‑term next steps: district leaders will submit the required draft reduction scenarios to the LFO by Nov. 3, monitor the November revenue forecast and report back at the December financial update. Workman said she will return in December with projected ending fund balance estimates for 2025–26 and that the district will continue to plan for bargaining with classified staff next year.

Community context: board and staff linked the funding discussion to programs that matter to families, including special education, Title I supports and school staff hiring. Board members and principals who presented later in the meeting also raised attendance and enrollment as drivers of future funding decisions.

Taper: Superintendent Gardner closed by telling the board the district will continue to monitor state actions and update the board at regular intervals; staff asked the board to expect additional budget modelling at the December meeting.