The Medford School District announced Friday it could eliminate 32 and a half staff positions, which includes teachers, as part of its plan to address an anticipated $15-million budget shortfall over the next two school years. 

The proposed staff reductions, which range from district-level administrators to classified staff, could be included in the $7.5 million in budget cuts the district is proposing for the 2024-25 school year. The district also plans on using $1.9 million of the district’s reserves.

“It is heartbreaking that we are in this position,” Medford School District Superintendent Bret Champion said in a Friday press conference.

Champion was joined by Brad Earl, assistant superintendent of operations, who also acts as the district’s chief financial officer. Earl also issued a stark message when it came to the real-life impact the cuts could have on the district.

“Most of our budget, 80% of it, in fact, is in the cost of individuals that work for us,” Earl said. “Supplies and materials (are) going to go up in costs, and so we will seek to reduce (full-time equivalent positions) in order to solve this budget crunch.”

District-level administrators could be reduced by 12.1%; school-based administrators by 8.2%; confidential/manager/supervisors by 5.9%; certified staff (teachers) by 2.5% and classified staff by less than 1%. To offset those proposed reductions, the district said it also plans to add six positions.

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 documents released Friday.

The majority of the staffing cuts would come through attrition — the departure of employees for a variety of reasons, the district stated in a news release. But Earl estimated that between five and 10 employees would be told their position is being eliminated next school year. Earl noted, however, that it is too early to know the true number of position eliminations.

Employees whose positions are in danger of being cut had not all been notified at the time of the press conference, and news outlets were requested to delay release of the information presented until 4 p.m. Friday.

Champion noted “shifts” the district could take to make reductions while protecting students’ education, including cutting teacher librarians from the district’s secondary school libraries and spreading school marshals out among elementary schools, as opposed to the original plan of having one for each elementary school. 

Other ways the district would look to solve the coming school year’s budget shortfall, Champion said, is to not move forward with some planned construction at the Innovation Academy on Center Drive, which opened in August 2023. The district’s partnership with the Children’s Museum of Southern Oregon to produce a preschool program could be reduced, he said.

Champion also announced at Friday’s news conference that the district could decide by early 2025 to consolidate at least two of its elementary schools due to low enrollment numbers. More information on the process and opportunities for community input will be shared in early fall 2024, the district stated.

The announcement of proposed budget reductions comes ahead of a May 2 meeting of the district’s Budget Committee, which will hear public feedback on the proposed budget for the 2024-25 school year and possibly recommend amendments before forwarding the proposed plan to the Medford School Board for review. Champion also is scheduled to deliver his budget message at the meeting.

After the May 2 meeting, the budget committee plans to hold meetings May 16 and possibly May 30, if needed. All meetings will include public feedback and potential budget amendments. The committee will then vote on a proposed budget for the school board to review. The board is scheduled to hold a public hearing June 6 and then vote on the budget on June 27, just days before the June 30 deadline set by state statute.

Medford School Board members predicted during an April 11 meeting that they will face “difficult decisions” and asked about the possibility of teacher and staff cuts after hearing a presentation on the anticipated shortfall over the next two school years.

During Friday’s press conference, Earl said the first budget cut could be manageable for the next school year, but warned “the second year will be much worse if we don’t get funding from the state” in certain areas.

The budget committee will meet at 5:30 p.m. May 2 at Oakdale Middle School, 815 S. Oakdale Ave.