Economy Series: Education funding continues to slide

Dan Forbess starts his day teaching industrial arts at Oakland High School.

After classes on Tuesday and again Thursday, he turns to his duties at the district office.

On Mondays and Wednesdays, though, he drives to Drain after class to work at the North Douglas School District.

Forbess is superintendent of both North County school districts and has juggled the responsibilities of dual administrator since 2005.

He had expected to retire the double duty this year and be in Oakland full time, but declining state school funding resulted in layoffs across Oregon.

As a result, instead of dropping some of his responsibilities, Forbess picked up one more job.

BUDGET FALL OUT

State funding for schools fell by more than 4 percent for the 2009-11 biennium, according to the Confederation of Oregon School Administrators, which represents the state's 2,000 administrators.

Oakland funding dropped 9 percent from 2008-09 to this year. North Douglas fell by 7 percent in the same time period. Other county districts experienced similar, or worse, reductions.

Forbess doesn't complain about the many hats he must wear. He even applauds the two districts for a superintendent model he says is a wise allocation of resources.

Forbess is not alone in multitasking. Every principal at Oakland has picked up slack in the district, either following Forbess' lead to teach another class or taking on other duties. And the superintendent is not the only one saying roller-coaster school funding is taking its toll on schools and students.

“It's so fickle with the economics of school funding,” Forbess said, adding this has been par for the course since 1992. “It doesn't seem like we've had enough money to do what we know is good for kids, that we know they desperately need.”

Teacher Donna Matovich has taught at Winston Middle School for 16 of her 26 years in education and notices the visual impact of ever-declining budget numbers.

“We're just having fewer and fewer bodies in the building,” she said. “We used to have every classroom full, and now there are lots of empty classrooms.”

Matovich's district, Winston-Dillard, trimmed 11 percent from its school budget for this year. That included 16 cut positions, most handled through attrition.

Some teachers are shared between the middle school and Douglas High School on the other side of town, and class sizes at her school are up to about 30 students each.

Twenty-five students per class is the general rule, Matovich said.

The local school is far above the state average, which state administrators place at about two students more per class compared to the 2008-09 year.

Roseburg eighth-grader laments loss of librarian Students frequently have different perspectives than their parents or teachers on how school budget cuts and a poor economy affect their lives. Here, Erin Cline of Roseburg, a member of The News-Review's Truth of Youth panel, provides her thoughts. One student's perspective “For the students at Jo Lane this year, school is just business as usual. Everyone still has core classes: math, science, language arts and social studies. And they still have their electives: band, choir, art, drama, yearbook and aiding. Once a week at lunch the prevention team still meets, and after school the sports teams still have their practices and games. Student council elections have come and gone, as have the first conferences. We still have our half days and our homework. Not much seems that different. For me though, there is a big difference. Our librarian from last year retired and the position left with him. This year we have a librarian who spends half her day at Fremont Middle School, and half her day at JoLane Middle School. And because we don't have the staff, we may have to cut a program. Two years ago we took second in state for Battle of the Books; last year we took first. This year we may not be able to compete at all. Having competed since fourth grade I was looking forward to a fifth year, and maybe another state victory — at the very least, an excuse to read a bunch of really good books and hang out with a team that loves to read as much as I do. Battle of the Books is a statewide literacy competition where you have 16 books and two types of questions: “in which book ...” questions, and content questions. Everyone is in teams of four with an alternate. Most schools rotate their alternate in the county, regional and state competitions. In truth, I think there are more pressing issues than that of the cut of just one program, like the cut of an elective. But it also needs to be considered that, since many of the schools in the area don't have a geography bee or similar programs, a program like Battle of the Books is one of the few ways a person really serious about academics can compete.” — Erin Cline, eighth-grader at Joseph Lane Middle School, Roseburg

TWOFOLD PROBLEM

Budget shortcomings aren't the only factor affecting the bottom line in schools.

“If the economy and enrollment is declining, then your problem is twofold,” Forbess said.

The state metes out district funding based on student populations, which comes to about $5,600 per child, said Jake Weigler, spokesman for the Oregon Department of Education.

Almost every school in Douglas County is experiencing dwindling numbers.

Forbess said that while the North Douglas School District's numbers leveled off several years ago, Oakland is still losing roughly 10 students each year, which he estimated at a loss of $60,000 in annual funding.

Dave Gianotti, superintendent at Riddle, said most students moving from the rural South County district are leaving because of economic reasons: parents' changing employment or moving.

Yet the Riddle Education Center, a charter school that serves at-risk students with alternative education, is almost always full and often has a waiting list, he said. Other county charter schools, such as Days Creek and Elkton, also enjoyed a slight increase in enrollment.

Both Gianotti and Forbess said that though departing students play a role in the enrollment decline, a more significant factor is simple attrition. There's little growth in the area and fewer young families are moving to Douglas County.

In Oakland, Forbess said the district bids adieu to about 50 seniors each year, while welcoming in only 25 to 30 kindergarten students.

Often the county's graduates don't return, a trend Gianotti dubbed “youth drain.”

“I think our graduating seniors don't see Douglas County as a viable option – they leave Douglas County to find either the education or the work they're after and they never come back,” he said.

Douglas County native Lori Adams now has two children attending Roseburg schools: Her daughter is a sixth-grader at Fremont Middle School, and her son, a third-grader at Melrose Elementary.

She's sees Douglas County schools' funding as a chronic problem and thinks the state, along with the local area, needs to re-evaluate what's important and focus on getting equal funding to less populous areas of the state. She also wants to see greater efforts to keep teachers in classrooms.

“I grew up in Glide and am familiar with budget constraints, and here we are 30 years later, having the same things happen,” she said. “Just because (rural areas) don't have the numbers – they still need the education.”

FAMILIES FEEL PINCH

Schools feel multiple waves of the recession, as it affects individual families as well.

Adams said she sees fewer school volunteers because both parents are working. Less money in the families means there are also fewer books bought at the book fair and fewer raffle tickets sold for school fundraisers.

She's watched other extras fall by the wayside, too.

“It's tough for parents to make ends meet when it comes to piano lessons or maybe attending individual sports – maybe they're only doing one thing instead of three,” she said.

But she's noticed the recession's silver lining, too, as families at Melrose come together to organize inexpensive activities such as skating, in which all kids can participate.

However, educators said lack of options inside of school is becoming a problem. Teachers are struggling to help students continue to learn and tend to their emotional needs, which are rising as more and more families feel the pinch.

“Our staff is doing the best we can do, but we're reaching the point that even our best isn't going to be enough,” Matovich said. “Basic reading, writing and math is not enough to succeed in our growing world … giving kids opportunities is most important.”

Schools are also tasked with reaching ever-higher national and state standards for student achievement.

Without funding to support resources that help students achieve the new standards, Forbess said he doesn't think schools can attain those goals.

Gianotti sees a dim future for local education unless current state funding changes.

“What I see happening with our schools is fewer and fewer elective options for students ... and all those other things that engage kids and help kids attend school and motivate kids to work hard at school will go away.

“Then you're going to see a social justice issue,” he said, “where I believe those who come from more stable socioeconomic settings will continue to be served and those with fewer financial resources will drop out, or find a job and struggle.”

• You can reach reporter DD Bixby at 957-4211 or by e-mail at dbixby@nrtoday.com.