Beaverton SD 48J projects $14 million deficit and outlines roughly 75 FTE in proposed reductions

Beaverton SD 48J officials told the district’s budget committee on March 10 that declining enrollment and slower local levy collections have produced a multi-year structural shortfall and that staff will propose reductions in advance of a May 5 proposed budget.

Mike Scofield, a district staff member leading the Budget 101 presentation, said the district ran about a $1,000,000 deficit in 2024–25 and is currently estimating "about a $14,000,000 deficit" for 2025–26. He said if nothing is done, multi-year projections show the deficit widening into the tens of millions and reserves falling to unsustainable levels by the 2028–29 year.

The presentation attributed the shortfall mainly to two factors: a sustained enrollment decline (presenters noted kindergarten cohorts dropping from prior highs by roughly 400–600 students) and slowing growth in the district’s local option levy. Jessica Jones, the district’s budget manager, told the committee the local option levy currently funds roughly 305 classroom teachers and that the district is projecting roughly a $5,000,000 shortfall in that levy — an amount Jones said would equate to about 30 teaching positions.

"We spend just near 90% of our money on people," Scofield said, underscoring why personnel changes are central to any balancing plan. The staff team described initial, concrete reduction concepts that together total roughly 75 FTE and about $11.5 million in savings (not including two items still marked TBD for district office and the flex program). Those concepts include: trimming unused credit recovery allocations, adjusting teacher allocation increments to remove fractional gaps, proportionally reducing elementary specialist and instructional coach allocations, centralizing some library and IT supports, regionalizing social workers and centralizing substance-use specialists, and district office staffing reductions.

School-level impacts will vary, staff said. Because the enrollment decline is most pronounced in elementary grades, reductions are likely to fall heavier at that level; the district warned that the expected levy shortfall could also raise class sizes where teaching positions are lost. Staff said some additions — notably 39 special-education paraeducator positions tied to student need — are included in the model and that final allocations will reflect weighted factors such as poverty and title status.

Scofield also flagged other fiscal factors that affect outlooks: advisory PERS rates used in forecasting (final rates will be set in the fall), and the end of remaining PERS bond credits that will change effective district PERS liabilities in future years. Staff noted their multi-year projections use the most recent ODE State School Fund updates and current enrollment adjustments.

The district emphasized that the reduction list is preliminary and that the cabinet is seeking sustainable, recurring savings rather than one-off cuts. "Our hope is these would be sustainable savings," Jessica Sears (budget committee member) paraphrased when asking whether cuts would be perpetual.

Next steps: staff will apply the staffing allocation methodology to final enrollment projections and incorporate public feedback from the budget listening and learning outreach. The district plans to publish proposed reduction details at least one week before the May 5 proposed budget meeting, when the board and budget committee will review the formal proposal.