School board approves $448 million spending plan for Portland schools
By Betsy Hammond, The Oregonian
May 24, 2010, 9:53PM
A unanimous Portland school board tonight approved a $448 million general fund budget for the 2010-11 school year that will allow schools to operate pretty much as they have this year.
By spending $16 million from reserves, the spending plan puts off tough decisions about how to cut spending to sustainable levels until next year. Board members acknowledged they will have to reduce spending, including cutting back on employees, as soon as next year.
The board chose to go along with Superintendent Carole Smith's proposed spending plan with very little change. Led by finance committee chairman David Wynde, the panel crafted a budget that spends about $2 million more than Smith had proposed.
The board did not want to cut 23 bilingual aides for English as a second language programs (which would have saved $1 million), given that Portland's program for English learners has just been cleared by state monitors after years of problems. It also did not agree with Smith's initial proposal to cut special education aides' work day by 30 minutes, a potential $600,000 savings that would have reduced those aides' pay and their