Bandon School District budget committee previews $18.9 million 2026–27 proposal amid falling enrollment

Amanda Simons, the district business manager for Bandon School District, presented the district’s proposed 2026–27 budget and a plan to align staffing and services with a long‑term decline in student enrollment.

Simons told the budget committee that the total proposed budget across all funds is $18,922,400, ‘‘a decrease of $1,335,306 from the prior year.’’ She said the general fund is budgeted at about $12,660,453 with an estimated beginning cash balance of roughly $2.4 million and a projected contingency of $281,162 for 2026–27 after using $134,039 of the 2025–26 contingency to balance the proposal.

Why it matters: the district expects continuing revenue pressure from flat state allocations and uncertain federal grants while costs for salaries, benefits and special education rise. Simons said the district is budgeting conservatively on an enrollment assumption of about 600 students and warned that state and federal allocations can be adjusted later in the cycle.

Committee members pressed on how the district would respond if enrollment falls further. Simons outlined a proposed administrative realignment to save positions, saying the district is considering ‘‘a K‑4 principal, a 5‑12 shared principal, and a shared 5‑12 fiscal secretary’’ and that the plan would ‘‘save 1 FTE of a principal, a fiscal secretary.’’ The committee discussed absorbing vacancies through attrition where possible and using multi‑year projections to guide decisions.

Special education emerged as the single biggest cost pressure. Shauna Schmayer told the group that special education funding does not cover many students’ needs and warned of outsized per‑student costs: ‘‘Special ed is is killing us,’’ she said, noting some individual cases can be orders of magnitude more expensive than typical per‑pupil amounts.

On revenue, Simons said the Oregon Department of Education has advised caution with preliminary federal allocations and that Title I and IDEA allocations remain flat or reduced in preliminary figures. The district is also monitoring state school fund estimates and said that the school fund is effectively flat relative to rising operating costs.

The proposed budget would reduce total FTE from about 109 last year to approximately 101.04 in the plan before final adjustments. Simons said the district has already absorbed about four FTE this year and will continue to evaluate which positions can be consolidated or left vacant consistent with contractual and programmatic needs.

The committee discussed non‑instructional and programmatic changes as well as pilot ideas to retain students, including exploring a hybrid/alternative education model with online curriculum and on‑site staff support to keep students who might otherwise transfer out of district schools.

The next procedural steps: Simons asked committee members to submit specific questions to the district office by Monday, May 18. The budget committee will reconvene at 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday, May 20; if ready, the committee may approve the proposed budget that night. A public budget hearing is scheduled for 4:00 p.m. on Monday, June 8, at which the board will act to adopt the budget, make appropriations and declare the tax levy.

Votes at a glance: the committee also elected officers by voice vote. Sharon Higa nominated Bill McNeal for chair; the nomination was seconded and passed by voice vote. William Majeel nominated Sharon Higa for vice chair; that motion was seconded and passed by voice vote.

What to watch next: whether projected kindergarten cohorts materialize and whether state or federal allocations change before final adoption. If enrollment falls faster than projected, the district said it will consider further consolidations that could affect staff and programs.

Sources: presentation and Q&A at the Bandon School District budget committee meeting. Questions about specific line items and grant assumptions were invited by the district office for follow‑up at the committee’s next meeting.