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Medford budget calls for cutting of 52 positions That will save the county's largest school district $2.4 million By DAMIAN MANN Mail Tribune Over two years, the Medford School District, which enrolls 40 percent of Jackson County students, will have lost more than 10 percent of its teaching staff. At the same time, Medford's enrollment has increased by 1.5 percent, bringing the student population at all 18 schools to 12,933. Under a proposed budget released Friday, the district announced it will have to cut 52 positions through attrition to save $2.4 million in the next fiscal year. Since some of these positions are part-time, the equivalent loss in full-time staff would be 47. Elementary schools would lose about 22 teachers, the middle schools about eight and the high schools about 16. "The impacts will be to raise class sizes at all levels," said Superintendent Steve Wisely. Last year, the district cut 21.5 elementary school positions, bringing the total number of teachers lost during the past two years to 67.5 out of some 650 in the district. Because of last year's budget cuts, Wisely already has noticed an impact. While visiting elementary schools recently, he said, "You could see wall-to-wall desks. It's just too much for teachers." With the latest staff reduction, Wisely said class sizes will grow by three to five students. Kindergarten class size will still remain at 20 students. "The impact of the large number of classroom teaching positions being cut will be much greater than that of 2001-02 because it is anticipated that enrollments will increase in K-12," said Wisely. The Medford district plans to cut back because it will receive $82.6 million in revenues, which is $2.4 million short of anticipated expenses. Like every district in Jackson County and many throughout the state, Medford is feeling the pinch from a $112 million cut to K-12 education statewide. In a two-year period, the Medford district has reduced $4.4 million from its budgets, resulting in the loss of 67.5 classroom teachers, five child development specialists, six elementary media assistants, four elementary music teachers and nine custodial and other support staff. In some cases, the district has transferred personnel from one position to another and from one school to another to mitigate potential class size problems. The district also will bring in more teacher aides. Wisely worries about the district's ability to continue to perform well on state assessment tests. Of the 50 Oregon schools receiving exceptional ratings on the state's annual report card this year, four are in the Medford School District. "If we're going to attain and maintain these test scores, we need to do things differently," he said. "We have to help them fill the needs of every youngster." The district hasn't yet developed a strategy to help teachers with larger class sizes, but Wisely said administrators will work on a plan. With enrollment increasing, the district hopes to build a skill center, add a middle school and upgrade the two high schools by asking voters in November to approve a $70 million bond. Prior to the budget cuts, the district had contracted with architects to design the new buildings at a cost of $2 million. With the shortfall, Wisely said, the district asked the architects to complete just the preliminary designs in order to save $1 million. This provided the district with part of a $2.1 million carryover fund going into the next fiscal budget. While the current round of cuts was made without layoffs, Wisely is concerned about the potential rejection of Measure 13 by voters. With the possibility of cutting an additional $4 million or more if Measure 13 fails, Wisely said he would have to resort to layoffs. Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.