FAQs

The difficulties mainly stem from inadequate state funding for K-12 public school districts, especially considering inflation and state requirements. Other factors include fewer enrolled students due, in part, to lower birth rates, pensions that need to be paid without allocated funds, higher student needs, and the end of special COVID-related emergency funds for schools.

The State of Oregon does not fund schools based on inflation; districts tend to receive increases of 3-4% from the state annually. This year, the district bargained with its teachers' union for a well-deserved cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) above that amount, plus about half of our employees qualify for a step increase of 2.5% to 3.5% in addition to the COLA . You can find more information on bargaining here.

Over the past 20 years, an increasing percentage of the State’s general and lottery fund budget has been allocated away from K-12 education toward other areas, such as health & human services (K-12 allocation went from 44.8% to 30.5%). The total budget for the state for 2023-25 is $33.491 billion. Out of this, K-12 education received $9.457 billion directly from the budget and an additional $743 million from other sources, making it $10.2 billion. This amount is 30.5% of the main budget. When you also count money from specific educational programs like Measure 98, the Student Investment Account, and the Early Literacy Grant, the total spending on K-12 education, excluding building costs, goes up to $11.702 billion, or 34.9% for 2023-25  as compared to 44.8% in 2003-05. However, the Quality Education Commission believes that to achieve their ideal level of education, K-12 would need $13.227 billion for the two-year period.

The state has projected a 4.08% increase for school year 2024-25 and early projections of only a 1.73% funding increase for school year 2025-26, which won't keep up with rising pension, salary, utility and other costs facing school districts.

Birth rates in Oregon are rapidly declining, contributing to lower student enrollment. There are also more choices for families. Nationwide, there has been an increase in students and families choosing homeschooling, charter schools, and private schools since the COVID-19 pandemic. The Medford School District also made the move to shift 6th Graders from Elementary to Middle Schools in the 2023-2024 school year.

Elementary enrollment is down 1,632 students (23.69%) since 2019. About half of those students are accounted for in the shift from MSD Elementary Schools to MSD Middle Schools.

Most elementary schools now have under 400 students enrolled. 

While overall enrollment is declining, special education enrollment has risen. Nearly 16% of students in the district qualify for special education services. The district must fully fund special education programs, but the state only funds districts up to 11% of total student enrollment.  The funding cap results in around $7.15M in additional costs not covered by the state for the district. This is a major contributor to budget deficits.

According to the City of Medford Planning Department, although Medford is seeing a surge in new apartment construction, it's important to note that most of these units are tailored toward smaller households, with a limited number of larger units suitable for families. Additionally, the demographic landscape of our community is evolving, with a significant portion of new residents being retirees who typically do not have school-aged children.

Even in traditional single-family neighborhoods, there's been a noticeable shift. Middle-aged couples, often with children who have already graduated, are increasingly attracted to our area due to the rise in remote work opportunities. Many of these individuals have relocated here after selling their homes elsewhere, drawn by Medford's relative affordability, and therefore have no ties to our school systems.

Around 2019, MSD analyzed our class and school sizes. MSD had two of the largest middle schools in the state and a space issue at our elementary schools composed of Kindergarten -6th Grade classes.  The district worked with dozens of community members on a team known as the Facility Optimization Committee to assess what was the most prudent way for the District to navigate the challenges we were facing.

After studying the issues outlined above and touring the schools, the Committee recommended that the District use all of its existing school inventory before asking the community to fund a bond for school expansion.  We had the “Old South High School” building (now Oakdale Middle School) being vastly underutilized, and it was certainly a viable option, but it needed to be upgraded seismically to increase life safety standards and be modified functionally to accommodate a middle school.

This work was phased over multiple years and self-financed by the MSD with an allocation of elementary and secondary school emergency relief (ESSER) funding to help offset the total cost.  Adding a third middle school allowed us to relieve the pressure at the elementary schools, reduce class sizes to the lowest level in the history of the Medford School District, add additional community partners such as preschools into more than half of our schools, provide adequate space for support staff addressing student needs in schools, and offer electives to 6th graders by moving them to middle school.

For the fiscal year 2024-25, MSD plans to cut $7.5 million. As we are currently deficit spending in this current year’s budget, we also propose spending down reserves by $1.9 million to soften the blow.

MSD aims to protect the student experience as much as possible, focusing on preserving high-quality classrooms and educators, safeguarding student wellness, ensuring ongoing innovation, and maintaining safety and security.

The total staffing reduction is 32.5 positions, mostly through attrition:

• District-level administrators will be reduced by 12.1%

• School-based administrators will be reduced by 8.2% 

• Confidential/Manager/Supervisors will be reduced by 5.9% 

• Certified Staff (Teachers) will be reduced by 2.5% 

• Classified Staff will be reduced by 0.9%

MSD’s strategy is to adjust staffing to align with the number of students we have. Because of this, our current projections are that the proposed cuts WILL NOT impact class sizes. We currently have class sizes that are historically low and are within the threshold agreed upon by our teacher’s union. Click here to view class size projections for the 24-25 school year.

Yes, secondary schools will no longer have teacher librarians. Libraries will remain open and be managed by classified media technicians instead. Student access will not be impacted. We have struggled to find certified teacher librarians to serve our schools. Oregon no longer has an in-state option for obtaining an endorsement, making our current structure unsustainable. 

For a full list of proposed cuts, click here.

Among them, MSD is not moving forward with planned construction at Innovation Academy, reducing funding to preschool partners, and not expanding the school marshal program.

MSD and districts nationwide have been experiencing declining enrollment since COVID-19. MSD has seen a 24% decrease in elementary enrollment since 2019. These decreases are due to lower birth rates and families choosing other options, particularly homeschooling. MSD plans to evaluate and possibly consolidate some underutilized elementary schools due to the significantly decreased enrollment. The analysis for consolidating elementary schools will begin in fall 2024, with announcements expected around early 2025. The consolidation will likely affect two elementary schools for the 2025-26 school year. Community engagement will be sought in this process.

MSD urges the community to come together to support public education and advocate for adequate state funding. We have information on contacting your local legislator and some talking points you can utilize here.