EUGENE, Ore. (KMTR) –Things aren’t looking quite as bad as last year when it comes to funding for the 4J School District. However, the news is still grim.
The Eugene 4J District held its first budget meeting of the year Monday night. Schools are facing a potential 11-million dollar budget shortfall next year. While that sounds like a lot of money, it’s still half the amount of last year's $22 million shortfall.
Last year’s budget resulted in changes including; unpaid days off for teachers, the shutdown of schools, and fewer school days, to name a few. 4J spokesperson Kerry Delf says the hope is that the next school year will include short-term solutions rather than permanent, deep cuts. “We are looking at ways to deal with this kind of shortfall that can stabilize our system and not have the kind of extraordinary change we've seen in the past year or two here,” says Delf.
Some examples include using spending reserves and taking furlough days. Delf says the shortfall was expected, since they're dealing with decreased revenues and increased costs. She says they'll make more decisions about next year's budget in the next couple of months.
If you're interested in hearing about money for schools, the budget meetings and school board meetings are open to the public. They are also broadcast on the district's radio station.
