Lake Oswego legal budget committee holds orientation, reviews budget timeline and forecasts

The Lake Oswego School District Legal Budget Committee convened for an orientation meeting where staff reviewed the budget calendar, the district and preliminary financial forecasts for the coming years.

Assistant Superintendent Stuart Ketzler told committee members the group's next substantive meetings are scheduled for May 6 (formal proposed budget presentation) and May 20 (second review and potential committee approval), with a May 27 placeholder if additional deliberation is needed before the full school board's June budget hearing and adoption. "We have our 1st, what I would call more formal meeting on May 6, and that's where we will present our proposed budget," Ketzler said.

Director of Business Services Margaret Breithaupt summarized the April financial model and said the district ended fiscal year 2024—25 with an actual ending fund balance a little above $6 million, higher than earlier projections. "We actually ended up a little over 6,000,000. I think it was 6,067,000," Ketzler noted while reviewing the model. Staff also observed positive swings in state revenue and interest earnings that helped the position but cautioned that rebuilding to the district's 8% reserve target will be multiyear work.

The committee elected its chair and approved the minutes from the prior meeting by voice vote. Committee members used the orientation to ask clarifying questions about enrollment drivers, special-education weightings and the fiscal effect of possible changes to the school calendar, among other topics.