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ORCA growth drives millions in passthrough revenue; board cautions about dependence
Summary
ORCA's rising enrollment is increasing state school fund passthroughs to Santiam Canyon SD 129J by an estimated $2 million; staff and board members warned that most of the dollars are passed through to ORCA and that changes in virtual-school funding or contract terms would create risk.
District staff told the committee that increasing enrollment at the Oregon Charter Academy (ORCA) accounts for a large share of the district's proposed revenue increase. Nicole Cooper said the district expects an additional roughly $2 million based on ORCA's growth and that that state-school-fund revenue will largely be passed through to the charter as purchase-service payments.
"Of that, 3,900,000 is ORCA," Cooper said while describing the purchase-service line in the budget. ORCA's finance director, Steve Yoss, told the board that ORCA's enrollment was sitting just under 3,200 students and that the charter budgets ADMr for planning at 2,820. Board members pushed staff on contingency planning, noting that ORCA's contract and state policy changes on virtual-school funding could reduce passthrough revenue. Staff said the district is emphasizing reserve-building (capital, curriculum, and a PERS reserve) to soften potential funding shocks.
