Hillsboro schools experience largest student-to-teacher ratio of all metro-area districts
Hillsboro has the highest average class size of the 11 largest school districts in the metro area.
That's according to an analysis by The Oregonian earlier this month, which found that crowded classrooms, few options and short school days or years have essentially become the norm in across the region.
Hillsboro schools with the most students per teacher:
Jackson Elementary School -- 28.1
R. A. Brown Middle School -- 27.7
Century High School -- 27.4
Orenco Elementary School -- 27.4
Glencoe High School -- 27
Liberty High School -- 27
Hillsboro High School -- 26.8
Imlay Elementary School -- 26.8
Butternut Creek Elementary School -- 26.7
Paul L. Patterson Elementary School -- 26.7
Steve Larson, Hillsboro's assistant superintendent, said large class sizes are a direct result of several years of budget cuts.
Local-option levies and construction bonds have helped offset those budget cuts in other school districts, Larson said, but have not been part of Hillsboro's solution. Voters turned down a $25 million bond last November that would have largely paid for technology improvements.
Chief Financial Officer Adam Stewart said the district has reduced its general fund by nearly $70 million since 2008, when the economy tanked. That means the district would have needed millions extra to keep services at the level provided six years ago.
Among the losses are 139 full-time equivalent teachers, more than 13 percent of the district's total staff at the time. Those losses translate into class sizes that top 30