Members of the Medford School District Budget Committee approved the proposed $288-million budget for next school year on Thursday, but not without vocal opposition from the community and dissenting votes.

The proposed 2024-25 budget contains $7.6 million in cuts, three potential layoffs and the elimination of 32 and a half positions, mostly through attrition. It was approved 10-4 by the committee and will go to the school board. The board will hold a public hearing on June 6 before likely adopting the budget on June 27.

The $288-million proposed budget includes not only the $200 million from the district’s general fund — which is where the cuts could occur — but millions more in other funds, including employee health insurance. 

The proposed reductions include four elementary assistant principals; 10 elementary teachers; two secondary teachers; two elementary elective teachers; a half-dozen teacher-librarians and a principal supervisor, according to district documents.

“I would expect anytime you’ve got hard decisions like this to make in a cut budget, you’re going to get some ‘no’ votes — that’s to be expected,” said Brad Earl, assistant superintendent of operations for the district, who answered questions by committee members Thursday night and presented the proposed budget to the committee on May 2.

“I was pleased that it passed; I was pleased of all the questions that got asked tonight, because it showed that our committee paid a lot of attention to it and agonized over it,” Earl said. “That’s all we can ask for.”

The committee’s approval of the budget comes as district officials brace for an anticipated $15 million shortfall over the next two years.

Ilex Brandenberger, chair of the budget committee and district parent, said in an interview following the meeting that he voted to approve the budget because he felt comfortable with the approach the district took in crafting the proposal.

“The district enrollment has gone down and the staffing levels have been adjusted accordingly and the district has done that in the most benign way possible,” Brandenberger said. 

Committee Vice Chairwoman Casey Stine, who voted against the proposed budget, issued a statement on Friday, saying, “with respect to the district, I believe there is too much impact to the kids with this current budget proposal.”

Pull Quote

“All of the people that came to the school board meeting tonight — what they shared about their perspective, and what they experienced and what they see, absolutely moved me. One value that I have is to try to lift the voice of others and not speak for them, but speak with them.”

— Medford School Board member Michael Williams

Michael Williams, the only Medford School Board member who voted against the proposed budget, said in an interview that he voted “nay” based on his conversations with district employees during school visits, as well as public comments he heard at the meeting.

“All of the people that came to the school board meeting tonight — what they shared about their perspective, and what they experienced and what they see, absolutely moved me,” Williams said. “One value that I have is to try to lift the voice of others and not speak for them, but speak with them.”

The approximately one hour and 45-minute meeting at Oakdale Middle School included public comment from nine district community members. Some of them pleaded not to cut to specific programs, while others suggested programs that should be cut. At least one person questioned the district’s expenses on public relations and the salary of Medford School District Superintendent Bret Champion.

Janelle Aldaco, an instructor at Howard Elementary School who was notified her position would be cut next year, spoke at the meeting, claiming district officials “cherry-picked” a quote from Gov. Tina Kotek during a previous presentation in order to “further a narrative” that the district must cut some teachers from next year’s budget.

“(It) serves as a metaphor for how this budget process has rolled-out thus far,” Aldaco told the committee. “While I agree wholeheartedly that we need more funding from the state, that is largely out of our control. What we can control is what we do with the money we have. Our budget is a value statement.”

Two North Medford High School students, Jayla Leggett, a senior, and Rylee Martyn, a junior, spoke to the committee about a video production class taught by instructor Curtis Stout that is set to dissolve as an elective offering.

“As someone who values the teaching career and technical education, I am upset and perplexed you have chosen Mr. Stout to leave and relocate,” Leggett said. 

Martyn said said she accompanied Leggett to help committee members see the importance of the video production program.

“Mr. Stout’s video classes are so much more than filming and editing — these classes help me and so many other students have a voice,” Martyn said. 

Medford School Board member Michelle Atkinson said during the meeting that she took video production at North Medford when she was a student and “it really did change my life and was a pivotal class for me.”

“I feel for you two,” Atkinson said, referring to Martyn and Leggett. 

Stout was among a handful of community members who issued written public comments. He stated the news of his elective being cut “was both surprising and disappointing because of the negative impact it has on students and the course offerings.”

“Elective classes that give students voice, creativity and career-related skills should not be the ones that are cut,” Stout wrote.

The public comment period included a detailed Q-and-A session in which committee members could ask questions of district officials about the proposed budget. It supplemented the 31 written questions committee members submitted to Earl following the May 2 meeting.

Earl issued responses prior to the meeting so committee members could review them prior to Thursday.

Atkinson said during the meeting that she knows the committee is “making hard decisions and I hate to see any cuts.”

Committee members did not make any amendments to the proposed budget. Earl said following the meeting that committee members did what they were asked to do, since the district’s money management is up to Champion and district administration. 

“It just gets really confusing to think that as an individual committee member you can make staffing decisions,” Earl said.  

After the meeting, Aldaco — who said she will be split between four different MSD schools next year, assuming she does not find work elsewhere — said while she is “heartbroken” about her job situation, she believes the district’s budget priorities are “completely lopsided.”

Aldaco also said she was not happy with the committee’s discussion about the budget.

“I think things were talked around, but I don’t think there was a direct answer to most of the more important questions,” she said.

Aldaco was “extremely saddened” by the committee members who voted yea on the proposed budget, but she has a lot of respect for those “who had the courage and the integrity” to vote nay.

Community members can provide public comment on the budget once more when the school board meets at 5:30 p.m. Thursday, June 6, at Oakdale Middle School, 815 S. Oakdale Ave., Medford.