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Superintendent Flags $4.3M PERS Gap and Says Closure of Roseburg Virtual School Is Among Budget Decisions Under Consideration
Summary
Superintendent Corden told the Roseburg Public Schools Board the district faces a structural budget gap driven in part by PERS increases and uncertainty in state revenue and that the planned closure of Roseburg Virtual School is among potential reductions under consideration.
Roseburg Public Schools Superintendent Corden told the board that the district faces several million dollars in budget pressures and that staff reductions, reassignments and the use of reserves are being used to manage a shortfall.
Corden said the district is carrying a roughly $4,300,000 deficit driven by PERS liability and that combined funding shortfalls could put the district in the neighborhood of more than $6,000,000 in reductions needed next year. He said the district has implemented about $2,500,000 in personnel reassignments and plans to apply roughly $2,500,000 of reserves to cover next year’s shortfall while delaying certain internal transfers (for major maintenance, vehicle replacement and other internal projects) to blunt immediate impacts.
Corden said he is not proposing further staff layoffs at this time, but warned the board that the district will need to make additional reductions and that some decisions will affect programs and services. He specifically identified the planned closure of Roseburg Virtual School (ROVS) as one of the decisions that represents a budgetary adjustment under consideration and said details will be discussed in upcoming budget committee meetings.
A parent and Roseburg Virtual School supporter, Dylan Williams, addressed the board during public participation and described the proposed closure as abrupt and harmful to families who choose a hybrid learning model. Williams said parents and students value the hybrid model and warned the district it risks losing state funding when affected students enroll elsewhere if the program closes.
Corden said the district is awaiting the state budget and legislative action that will influence final local decisions, and he reiterated the district will present a budget proposal to the board at its upcoming budget committee meeting. He urged the community that, even amid constrained resources, the district will try to preserve staffing where possible and align cuts with the district’s strategic priorities.
No formal decisions to close programs were made at the meeting; the superintendent directed staff to bring budget proposals and options to the board for formal consideration.
