Hillsboro SD 1J projects roughly $20 million shortfall; proposes staff reductions to balance 2025–26 budget

Hillsboro School District 1J finance officials told the budget committee on May 6 that the district is planning for an estimated $20,000,000 shortfall in the 2025–26 school year and proposes staffing and one‑time operational reductions to produce about $19,900,000 in savings.

District Financial Officer Scott Harrison and Director of Business Services Jeff Jones presented a proposed budget built around the governor's recommended state school fund level of $11.36 billion and the district’s current operating assumptions. “If we take the governor's proposed K–12 budget of $11,360,000,000 … this equates to a funding increase … of 11.4%. … We estimate our expenses over the same time frame to increase by more than 9 percent,” Harrison said in the presentation, summarizing the gap that produces the shortfall.

The district attributed the gap to several factors: declining enrollment (staff estimates roughly 1.2% decline; outside demographers projecting as much as 4% over coming years), higher PERS employer contribution rates released by the PERS board, increased liability‑insurance and utility costs, and wage and benefit increases from recently settled labor contracts. Superintendent Travis Reim said the district is planning reductions because “we are a people‑intensive organization with nearly 85% of our costs related to staff.”

The proposed reductions break down roughly as $16.7 million in staff‑related savings and $3.1 million in operations and maintenance reductions. The staffing changes shown in the packet include about 67 licensed full‑time‑equivalent (FTE) reductions (31 classroom and 36 non‑classroom licensed FTE), about 53 classified FTE reductions (24 department‑based and 29 school‑based hours converted to FTE), and five supervisory/administrative/technical FTE reductions. District staff said the licensed numbers are averages and that actual classroom ratios may vary across schools.

Harrison and Jones told the committee that they prioritized reductions to limit classroom impact where possible and to favor one‑time operational reductions over ongoing staffing cuts when feasible; they also emphasized that many operational savings are not sustainable into the second year of the biennium. “Staff reductions are also considered sustainable because they save us money in both years of the biennium, whereas operational reductions are typically one‑time savings,” the district presentation said.

Unions and staff representatives urged continued advocacy for increased state funding and warned of the local consequences of the cuts. Alicia Infante, political action chair of the Hillsboro Classified Unit (HCU), called for “relentless pressure on those in power to fully fund public education” and promoted a union‑organized town hall for legislators the following evening. Hillsboro Education Association President Mary Kay Babcock said the governor’s proposed budget is “the largest in Oregon’s history for education” but that “this is a cuts budget” for many districts and encouraged community members to contact legislators.

The budget committee voted to adopt the proposed budget document at the meeting; later the full board approved a supplemental budget resolution to move internal service fund balances and make appropriations adjustments so the district can apply those funds against the current fiscal‑year deficit. The district plans a formal public hearing and adoption of the budget June 17, and implementation would begin July 1.

The district posted an explainer video and a legislative advocacy packet on its Budget Matters webpage, and officials encouraged constituents to contact legislators and use the materials provided. "We have a wealth of information on the Budget Matters page of our website, including a legislative advocacy packet with background information and advocacy templates in both English and Spanish," the superintendent's budget message said.

What happens next: the board will continue work with principals and human resources on staffing placements, follow legal timelines for notifications related to reductions in force, and remain responsive to final legislative budget actions; the district said staffing notices and final placements may continue into spring depending on the legislature’s final numbers.

Ending: the district emphasized it will try to protect core student programs and restore staffing first if additional funding becomes available, while urging community members to advocate to legislators for increased K–12 funding.