Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Education Funding topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Estacada SD 108 reports rising enrollment and flagging special-education funding amid strategic plan rollout
Summary
Superintendent Garber presented a district scorecard tied to a five-year strategic plan and survey results showing high employee, parent and student satisfaction; officials warned that Estacada's 16% special-education population outpaces the state's 11% double-weighted funding cap, creating an ongoing budget shortfall as enrollment grows.
Superintendent Garber told the board on Nov. 12 that the district is in year three of a five-year strategic plan and is rolling out a public scorecard informed by employee, parent and student survey results.
Garber said the district achieved strong engagement scores, noting a 92% employee participation rate and mean employee survey results of roughly 4.17 out of 5. He highlighted top department scores (technology 4.81) and said the district will use "meaningful movement" targets from the Studer Survey tied to administrator evaluations.
Garber also briefed the board on enrollment and funding pressures. The district is tracking slightly above its budgeted enrollment (budgeted 1,965; reported about 1,985) and expects a December "true up" that will adjust state funding. He warned that Estacada's proportion of students served in special education (about 16%) exceeds the state's double-weighted funding limit of 11%, leaving the district to cover the difference. "We receive about $10,000 per student and if a student is served in special education then we get a second weight," Garber said; "a special education student is roughly about $20,000 to us to serve," he added.
Board members discussed the state's budget modeling, including Oregon Department of Education scenarios for 2.5% and 5% cuts that prioritize CTE and SIA areas. Business staff said the legislature's November economic forecast and subsequent short session will determine final budget outcomes and whether one-time funds such as the education stability fund will be used. The superintendent described the stability fund as a potential source (discussed at approximately $1.9 billion by staff) but noted constraints: drawing on such funds typically requires legislative action or an emergency declaration.
The district plans to use the scorecard and survey feedback to guide internal targets and administrative evaluations, and staff emphasized continued focus on communication, reconfiguration planning and addressing lower-scoring themes such as air conditioning and some facilities concerns.
What happens next: district staff said they will publish the scorecard and continue to monitor enrollment true-ups, state budget developments and the financial impact of serving a high proportion of students with special-education needs.
