The first of seven approved furlough days in the Silver Falls School District (SFSD) begins this Friday as employees from all job classifications take cuts to balance the district’s budget.
The SFSD Board approved May 3 and 24, and June 10-14, as furlough days during their regular meeting April 22, and both of the district’s unions have since ratified the cuts.
These measures are expected to help correct a projected $4 million deficit in the current budget, including a $1.3 million cash shortfall in June.
Bethany Charter School and Community Roots School are not affected by these furloughs as they have separate financial and administrative structures from the district.
Students already had May 3 off as this was to be a day for staff development training, and now staff will not be coming in as well. May 24, the Friday before Memorial Day, extends the holiday into a four-day weekend, while June 10-14 had been the last week of school. The new last day of school will be June 7, also a half-day.
Interim Superintendent Joe Morelock told the board April 22 these dates were considered the “least damaging” to take off and will still come with drawbacks, particularly losing the last week of school. He said teachers now have “additional work that has to get done in a shorter amount of time” as they prepare to close down classrooms for summer break.
He said taking days off might seem like “something that’s easy to do” but that employees are sacrificing their take-home pay to avoid other reductions such as layoffs. These pay cuts are expected to be spread across the remaining paychecks for district employees for this school year.
Not all district employees will be out during all seven furlough days, though all employees are facing some form of workday reductions, according to Director of Finance Kim Doud. Reductions by staff classification include:
- 5 furlough days for classroom and food service staff.
- 7 furlough days for teachers, school office staff, district office staff, and custodial, maintenance, technology employees.
- 8 furlough days for principals and other administrators.
- 7-8 furlough days for confidential and supervisory staff.
- 8-9 furlough days for directors.
Doud said the district expects to save $1.2 million across all furlough days, with one average school day amounting to roughly $179,000 in personnel expenses. These savings, along with an anticipated $3.8 million bridge loan, are expected to stabilize the district financially through the end of the current school year.
Officials are working to cut next year’s budget by roughly $8.8 million, or 12% of the current budget, to correct overspending and prevent further financial overruns. Morelock said April 22 he plans to propose specific reductions soon so employees have the benefit of knowing their job prospects for next year sooner than later.
Morelock said they are prioritizing “non-staff reductions” and are examining cuts instead to programs, bell times, purchasing orders and contracts, and also considering the sale of district assets. He said staff reductions are not off the table and may become necessary as the result of eliminating any programs or facilities.
