The Ashland School District is working to create a plan to ensure its long-term viability.
With decreasing enrollment and increasing costs, leadership says systemic change is needed to stay afloat.
The state funds school districts based on enrollment, and Superintendent Joseph Hattrick said ASD has a numbers problem.
"This year, we graduated 221 students. Next year, we're bringing in about 150. So if that trend continues, we're instantly losing 70 students a year. That is not a good equation," he said. "How do we bring more students into our community? Otherwise, every single year we can predict that we're going to lose three to four classrooms of students. That's huge."
This summer, a committee of administrators, parents, staff and community leaders is reviewing data and community feedback — gathered through a series of surveys — to create a proposal to cut $3 million from the general fund, about 7%.
According to the committee's purpose statement, "Scenarios may include, but are not limited to, school consolidation, school mergers, grade-level reconfiguration, facility repurposing, program redesign/development, innovative instructional models, operational efficiencies, and other transformative approaches that strengthen student outcomes while aligning with enrollment and financial realities."
In the fall, they’ll seek more public input, including town halls and listening sessions, before further revision.
The goal is for the school board to approve the plan in January with implementation starting soon after.
Hattrick — who has only been in his role for two years — said the community is eager for answers, but nothing has been decided yet.
"There is no school or schools that have been targeted for closure. That might be a solution, but I don't know what it will be," he said. "Could it be a total reconfiguration? Sure. Could it be a closure? Sure. I don't know, and I do not have a plan."
The community seems supportive of change, he said, and backs the district in other ways, with almost 79% of voters recently renewing a five-year tax levy .
Hattrick said the district tried to get grants to hire a consultant to do this work but was unsuccessful and doesn't have the funding to pay for consulting.
The district recently suffered a big financial shortfall that was solved in part by an anonymous donation and a loan.
Hattrick hopes the new transformation plan will put ASD in a stronger position long-term.
"Every year, staff are coming to work wondering if their jobs are secure. Students are coming to school wondering if their teachers are going to be there at the end of the year," he said. "That has to stop."
Meanwhile, just across the street, Southern Oregon University recently approved a plan to cut one-fifth of its budget because of similar budget and enrollment issues.
According to Hattrick, solving the enrollment problem will involve collaboration across entities, including the city and SOU.
"We're going to figure out, how do we attract more families?" he said. "How do we make sure that we can start increasing enrollment again? And that can't just be the school district. We have to talk partnerships. We have to talk community because this is a community issue. It's not just a school district issue."
