Budget Updates

This page is a resource for information and frequently asked questions about the budget development process and will be continuously updated as the process moves forward.

News & Videos Regarding the Budget

Two students sit at a table together to work on a school assignment

2024-25 Budget Update: November 2023

Nov 29 2023

Superintendent Andrea Castañeda sits at a table

Fall Update on Upcoming 2024-25 Budget Reductions

Nov 16 2023

Superintendent Castaneda speaking at school board meeting

An Update Regarding The District’s Budget

Oct 17 2023

Labor Relations

Find updates and timeline of activities on collective bargaining with district employees represented by labor unions on our Labor Relations webpage.

Budget FAQs

What is the amount of the deficit?

Financial forecasting in July 2023 estimated an $89 million gap in the 2024-25 school year between how much the district spends at current service levels and how much revenue the district receives from the state. That gap would have reduced the district's ending fund balance to a negative $38 million, which is not legally possible as the district must have a balanced budget.

The district has been closely monitoring all spending in the current year and looking for cost-saving measures. Due to this diligence, the estimated gap (calculated in November 2023 ) between forecasted expenses and revenue is now down to $73 million, with the ending fund balance at a negative $17 million, which is still not legally allowed.

That gap needs to be reduced as much as possible to create a sustainable budget.

Why is there a budget deficit?

There are several reasons for the budget deficit, including:

Revenues from the state are not keeping pace with increasing expenses.
Expenses are rising due to inflation, an increase in the number of staff needed to address students’ pandemic-related learning loss and and social-emotional growth, and the annual cost increases associated with payroll such as PERS obligations and negotiated salary increases for employees.
COVID -19 relief funding from the federal government is expiring.
Student enrollment has been declining for several years. The amount of funding the district receives from the state is tied to student enrollment numbers.

Will there be cuts for next school year?

School districts are full of people who serve our students. Staff make up 86 percent of Salem-Keizer's general fund (main operating budget) to pay for salaries and benefits. In order to close the $73 million budget gap between current expenses and revenue, significant cuts will need to be made. Those cuts have not been identified, but the district estimates hundreds of positions will need to be reduced in order to balance the budget. The district is committed to making cuts at the district level first, which will include staff reductions, reorganizing services, and reducing district spending, before making reductions at schools.

How will the district prioritize making cuts?

The district will start by looking at the district level first. The district is already reviewing spending, reducing expenses, evaluating vacant positions before filling them, and will announce millions in reductions from the district level in December 2023. However, the significant budget gap cannot be closed by reductions at the district level alone–there will need to be reductions at schools as well as the district level.

Why is the district trying to decide the budget earlier than usual this year?

Budget Questions

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*Please note that not all questions submitted through this form will receive an individual response. Questions submitted will be used to produce answers to commonly asked questions above. The district will provide updates to this page continually with additional questions and answers related to the 2024-25 budget.

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