Oregon school district leaders, including Salem-Keizer, say the state often causes financial stress by not communicating expected changes that can affect district budgets by millions. Those 11 leaders, including Salem-Keizer Superintendent Andrea Castañeda, want information sooner from the Orego n Department of Education on expected student enrollment and demographics so they can more effectively build budgets and avoid last-minute layoffs, furlough days or unexpected dips into savings. They made the request in a letter sent Thursday, April 16, to the state Board of Education and agency officials. Members of the Salem-Keizer School Board sent a separate letter. SIGN UP: “I love and respect what Salem Reporter does for our community.” Salem Reporter covers the people, issues, and stories shaping our city. Stay connected to Salem. Subscribe today. The ask comes after Salem-Keizer School District leaders learned in late February they would receive $14 million less in state funding than expected the upcoming school year. That was due to federal data concluding the district had fewer poor students enrolled, as well as enrollment declining faster than the state rate. “Our story is a cautionary tale about late notice, administrative sequence, and gaps in communication. Fixing these practices doesn’t require money or changes to statute or rules,” the school board letter said. Leaders of Woodburn, Tigard-Tualatin, Greater Albany and Hermiston school districts were among those signing. All said they received news in February lowering state revenue from what they had expected to receive for 2026-27.  The education department typically notifies districts in February about state funding that accounts for updated enrollment, spokeswoman Liz Merah said. “By February, most district budgets are nearly complete, leaving harmed districts with only two options: adding last-minute emergency reductions or spending reserves,” the districts’ letter read. Merah noted that districts don’t report their enrollment until mid-January and those numbers are needed to project the state funding. The education department has worked to make better schedule funding updates so districts can plan, she said. “We will continue working with district partners to refine both the timing and clarity of these updates to best support local budgeting and forecasting needs,” she wrote in an email. School district funding is determined by a complicated formula used by the state that divides up a pot of money based on factors including how many students are enrolled in school. Districts receive more money for students who generally cost more to educate because they have disabilities, are learning English or live in poverty. District leaders said the education department often sends important information about finances and state trends through automated reports that are easy to miss or don’t fully disclose the information the state has.  “Districts have to manually piece together the information we need from individual reports,” the letter said.  That’s especially hard for leaders of smaller districts or those in new positions. “It’s like we’re being asked to catch a falling knife every year and then we are blamed if we get cut,” Castañeda said in an interview. Castañeda and Lisa Harnisch, first vice chair of the Salem-Keizer School Board, also testified before the state board Thursday morning. District leaders said accurately planning for spending is crucial as schools contend with other challenges like gas price spikes and depleted savings accounts. “The asset of resiliency in the coming years may be the difference between financial challenges and educational crises for Oregon school districts,” they wrote. Contact Managing Editor Rachel Alexander: [email protected] or 503-575-1241. The post School district leaders want earlier state data to avoid unexpected budget cuts appeared first on Salem Reporter. ...read more read less