Tyler Graham

The 4J administration building sits in a shadow of shade in Eugene, Ore. on May 14, 2025 (Tyler Graham/Emerald)

On May 21, the Eugene School Board voted five to two to approve the district’s 2025-2026 budget, moving forward with a proposal to reduce 38.25 full-time positions. 

The district’s nearly $561 million adopted budget for the upcoming 2025-2026 fiscal year includes roughly $15.86 million in reductions. The 2025-2026 fiscal year begins on July 1, 2025, and ends on June 30, 2026. 

Earlier this month, district officials proposed that the board cut 65.80 full-time positions as part of what would have been roughly $20.78 million in budget cuts. After community and school board feedback, some positions, including seven licensed full-time positions at the elementary school level, three licensed full-time positions at the middle school level, 3.5 full-time positions at the high school level and 92 hours of educational assistant time in 46 first-grade classes, were restored and added to the now-adopted budget. 

In addition to those positions, the budget also restores the equivalent of one full-time district-wide library services position, 4.5 classified full-time district-wide positions and 6.3 classified full-time positions at the high school level.

The approved staffing reductions will impact schools. While district officials say that 92% of the staffing reductions next fiscal year will occur “outside of” schools, they say that 8% will occur “inside schools.”

The district’s budget woes

The school district’s budget woes come amid lower revenue forecasts for state education funding for the state’s upcoming 2025-2027 fiscal year, which begins in July. District officials say a recent state forecast shows that the three sources that make up the state school fund — general fund and lottery resources, corporate activity tax and corporate kicker revenue — are all down by roughly $920.4 million from a previous forecast made by state economists in March for the upcoming fiscal year. 

Further complicating the district’s budget, officials say, is that “​​local revenue also went down,” which means that the state “needs to make up for the loss on the local level.” While district officials say they can assume a 3% increase each year in property taxes and revenue from the district’s current local option levy, they say cuts are still necessary next fiscal year because of “less beginning fund balances across the entire budget and reduced capital project funds.”

Collectively, property taxes, school district levy funds and the state school fund make up 83% of the district’s proposed total budget. 

Another major challenge the district faces is declining enrollment and increased staffing despite the lower student numbers. This impacts the budget because the state funding the district receives is largely tied to the number of students it has. 

The district has nearly 600 fewer students than it did in 2020. Since then, it has added almost 600 staff positions to support students and schools during and after the pandemic. The added positions were primarily funded by COVID-19 federal dollars, which have now run out. According to the district, these positions were extended this school year by utilizing the district’s reserve funds. Moving forward, though, officials say the district needs to change its staffing levels to match the district’s financial realities. 

District officials report they are on track to spend nearly $30 million in reserves for the current fiscal year. The projected spending accounts for 14% of the district’s reserve accounts in its 2024-2025 adopted budget. The district plans to spend at least $23 million in reserves during the 2025–2026 fiscal year.

Reserve Level Shortfall and Board Policy Conflict

District officials say the 2025-2026 budget is projected to dip “just below the minimum reserve level” required by the school board’s 8% required reserve threshold. Under board policy, the superintendent and school board now must review transfers, expenditures and the projected ending fund balance for a potential mid-year adjustment next fiscal year. It also requires that the superintendent notify the board and propose a plan to rebuild reserves over time if the district were to fall below the 8% threshold.

Interim Superintendent Colt Gill sees three options for the next fiscal year to address this board policy. He said the board could direct the superintendent to underspend the budget to maintain minimum reserves. Another option, Gill said, is that the board could further reduce the 2026-27 budget to build the reserve back to the minimum level. The third option, he said, is that the board could choose to change the minimum reserve level it has set in the policy. 

A ‘win’ for educators and parents

Eugene Education Association President Sabrina Gordon said the now-approved budget is a “win” for parents and educators who pushed back against the district’s previously proposed budget.

“We’re really looking at it as a win. It did not happen by accident,” Gordon said in an interview with The Daily Emerald. 

Gordon said that “win” was the result of sustained opposition from educators and community members who warned that the previously proposed cuts would hurt students. She added that restoring roles previously proposed for elimination, like educational assistants for first-grade classes, helps address some of the district’s most urgent classroom needs.

Budget Opposition

While most of the school board voted to approve the budget, two members, Rick Hamilton and Morgan Munro, voted against it.

Munro said the budget ignores financial realities by relying heavily on one-time fixes and draining reserves, potentially setting the district up for painful decisions in the future.

“This budget irresponsibly ignores financial reality,” Munro said. “It leaves us incredibly vulnerable to the likelihood of federal funding cuts and sets both the board and our new superintendent up for unnecessarily brutal choices next year.”