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Cascade School District budget committee approves $64.33 million 2025-26 budget and sets tax rate
Summary
The Cascade School District Budget Committee approved the proposed 2025-26 budget totaling $64,331,009.83 and set the permanent property tax rate at 4.6405 per $1,000, after staff warned pension and substitute costs will require modest use of reserves.
The Cascade School District Budget Committee voted to approve the 2025-26 proposed budget in the aggregate amount of $64,331,009.83 and set the permanent property tax rate at 4.6405 per $1,000 of assessed value.
"I move that the Cascade School District budget committee approve the 2526 proposed budget in the aggregate amount of $64,331,009.83 and set the property tax rate at the permanent amount of 4.6405 per thousand of assessed value," a committee member moved; the motion was seconded and carried by voice vote.
Superintendent Darren Drell said the budget will use a portion of reserves to cover three primary pressures: higher PERS (retirement) costs, increased long-term substitute and leave costs, and a flattening of enrollment. "We are gonna need to take money out of reserves to be able to cover our budget," Drell said, explaining staff hopes to avoid layoffs by prioritizing classroom preservation and using attrition where possible.
Director of finance Scott Dollar presented the line-item structure and fund tabs and answered committee questions on debt service, special-revenue funds and proposed side-account strategies. The committee opened a public hearing on the proposed budget, invited comments and closed it when no members of the public spoke. The budget now moves forward for additional board-level review and the standard June public hearing and adoption process required by Oregon local budget law.
The committee also approved several personnel and governance housekeeping items earlier in the meeting, including the appointment of Patty Taylor to a vacant budget committee seat and reappointments of two members to three-year terms.
