Superintendent Perry releases proposed $1.3 billion budget for the 2023-24 school year

Update May 22, 2023

At its May 22 meeting, the Salem-Keizer budget committee unanimously approved the 2023-24 proposed budget as amended, which totals $1,275,766,321. The approved budget will now go to the SKPS Board of Directors for a vote on budget adoption at its June 13 meeting.

During the budget process, budget committee members worked through the $1.3 billion budget proposed by Perry, asking questions about expenses with fund balance, allocations for safety, deferred maintenance, class size and staffing ratio and other instructional priorities. This process allowed for budget committee members to learn about the district’s recommendations for funding allocations in key areas that impact student success and wellbeing.

The budget committee passed an amendment to the proposed budget to adjust initial allocations of $1.5 million from non-instructional to instructional funds. This was the only amendment approved by the budget committee from Perry’s proposed budget presented on May 2, 2023. 

2023-24 Proposed Budget

Salem-Keizer Public Schools Superintendent Christy Perry presented her $1.3 billion proposed budget for the 2023-24 school year to the district’s budget committee during their first meeting of the year on Tuesday. The proposed budget was developed before lawmakers finalized the State School Fund.

The 2023-24 proposed budget builds on the revenue assumption of a $9.9 billion State School Fund, which is below the $10.3 billion that is necessary to maintain current service levels and is the second biennium in which SKPS and other Oregon school districts face a shortfall.

“With the present fiscal uncertainty, resources allocated directly to our schools and classrooms are critical and central to the allocations in this proposed budget. Even with these dedicated reallocations, I know that our educators will continue to feel the real challenges facing Oregon schools today,” said Perry.

“Students across the state and here in Salem-Keizer have diverse and unique needs, which require investments from the state level. With restrictions on spending and the strategic realignment and reduction of FTE, this proposed budget helps to reduce the impact the current state of education funding has on our Salem-Keizer students and educators; however, I do not believe this budget will meet the long-term financial goals of the district.”

Salem-Keizer Public Schools incoming Superintendent Andrea Castañeda joined Perry in delivering portions of the budget message to the district budget committee, which includes current school board directors and seven community-based budget committee members.

Strategies for sustainable school-based supports

The 2023-24 proposed budget is built on strategies for sustainable school-based supports for Salem-Keizer students with a focus on the following budget priorities:

• Strategic investments through the district’s integrated plan to promote student well-being and academic progress investments.
• Investments in targeted attendance interventions to increase regular attendance.
• Reallocated centralized investments to ensure a minimum of a 1.0 FTE instructional mentor at each school to support the district’s high number of early career educators. In addition, allocations will support professional development to support the needs of English Language Learners and provide teachers with a deep understanding of the science of learning to read and the necessary instructional skills for all students.
• Investments in Career Technical Educational offerings and targeted support for ninth-grade students to support high school success.

The proposed budget includes federal funding for ESSER, and 116 full-time equivalent (FTE) positions are funded through this federal grant including nurses, school-based health assistants, and social workers. Additionally, 54 elementary classroom teachers are funded with ESSER funds to reduce primary-level class size. The grant expires in September 2024, and Superintendent Perry emphasized the critical need for strategic financial planning to address future funding challenges.

“I am thankful to have worked with a community of people who join me in making the well-being of our students our priority in each budget, and in all we do,” said Perry. “There will always be challenges in front of us, but I am confident in our exceptional staff, including our district leaders and school board, who manage resources and who support our students each and every day.”

Budget Process Timeline

Timeline for the budget process:

• May 2 meeting: Proposed Budget presented, no public comment received
• May 16: Deliberations, public comment*
• May 22: Public comment* and deliberations on the proposed budget until approved/recommended to the school board for adoption
• May 23 and May 24: Tentative – meeting(s) will only occur if the budget is not approved May 22. Public comment* may or may not be received; deliberations on the proposed budget until approved/recommended to the school board for adoption. Additional meetings may be necessary if the budget is not approved/recommended to the school board for adoption by May 24.
• June 13: SKPS Board of Directors to vote on budget adoption

*For meetings where public comment will be received, it will be accepted using the public comment sign-up form; instructions to submit public comment will be provided on the agendas for those specific meetings.

Meetings will begin at 6 p.m. Meeting details and viewing opportunities are on the Budget Committee web page.