BSD Briefs
October 22, 2018
District Goal: WE empower all students to achieve post-high school success.
School Board Meeting tonight
The School Board will hold a Business Meeting tonight at 6:30 p.m. at the Administration Office, 16550 SW Merlo Rd., Beaverton, 97003. The public is welcome to attend.
During the Hold ‘Em Exercise, audience members will participate in a simulation where they have to evaluate and balance the District’s budget.
Beaverton School District
Budget Scenario 2019-20
Statewide - Although Oregon is experiencing a strong economy and stable job market, the state budget is facing tremendous pressure from the PERS obligation. Currently, there is no revenue reform to help cover these rising costs and the projected kicker would reduce the ending fund balance of the current biennium.
Timeline: The Governor’s budget will be released by December 1st. The Co-Chairs Budget is usually released by late February and Legislature meets February through June. Final State budget is due by June 30th. Beaverton will start the staffing process in late February. Adopt budget by June 30.
There are also many unknown factors that will impact the budget for 2019-20:
- State Funding Level
- Increases to utilities
- Construction market conditions driving up maintenance and repair costs
- Costs for contractual obligations for staff
- Health insurance increases
Costs that we can estimate currently include:
- PERS increase
- Length of school year
- Current service level including step costs
Local Background
Enrollment: Beaverton School District has had relatively flat enrollment for the past few years. However, our enrollment is steadily growing on the borders of our district and declining in the center of the district. Our student demographics are also changing. Our students in poverty are decreasing as housing costs increase. We are also seeing a decrease in our English Language Learners. These changes have a negative impact on our State School Fund (SSF) allocation.
Student Achievement: In 2018, greater percentages of Beaverton students meet or exceed state standards on the Smarter Balanced and Oregon Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (OAKS) than their peers statewide in all subjects tested at all grades. We are also seeing improvement in our subgroup data. BSD graduation rates continue to be higher than the state average and the gap between BSD and the state is increasing.
Current Service Level: Beaverton has added nine instructional days to the school calendar during the last three years. Five of these days were additional days to the licensed contract. This is in alignment with School Board and Governor’s priorities. Our salaries and benefits have kept pace with the economic demand of the area.
Instructional Investments:
- Student Success Coaches at all elementary schools to address increased social and emotional needs of our students.
- CTE and High School Success - in response to Measure 98, Beaverton has increased Career and Technical Education opportunities at our high schools. We have also invested in graduation mentors to increase graduation rates and attendance.
- Early Learning - Beaverton has invested in ten pre-kindergarten classes at five elementary schools.
- AVID - (Advancement Via Individual Determination) All secondary schools have AVID tutorial classes and schoolwide AVID strategies have been implemented.
- Future Ready - Full secondary 1:1 device implementation and increased elementary technology strategies and devices. The Future Ready initiative necessitated technology infrastructure upgrades and modernization funded primarily through the bond.
- Social Workers and Counselors have been increased to support increased student needs.
- Professional Development - New curriculum adoptions have been supported with professional development for all teachers. Early release implementation has increased collaboration and professional development across the district.
Operation & Support Services Investments:
- Custodial staffing has increased commensurate with the addition of square footage in new facilities, maintaining staffing at the minimal 2012-13 funding level per square foot.
- Increased maintenance staffing resulted in an immediate improvement in client satisfaction. These increases have slowed but not reversed the growth rate of deferred maintenance.
- Operational costs have increased in response to additional buildings and square footage, upgrades to heating and cooling units, increased instructional days, unfunded mandates, community use of schools, and security and seismic updates. Operational budget increases have not accompanied these additions.
We will continue to communicate with the community throughout the budget and 2019 legislative process.
An estimated 5 million to 7.5 million U.S.students miss nearly a month of school each year.
#EveryDayMatters #Attendance
*Source: Attendance Works
Great Oregon ShakeOut
Schools across the Beaverton School District participated in the “Great Oregon Shakeout” (a few days early.) During the District-wide drill, all staff and students performed “Drop, Cover, and Hold On,” a quake-safe action designed to protect lives and prevent injuries during an earthquake.
School Board Business Meeting
Monday, October 22, 2018
6:30 p.m.
Administration Office
16550 SW Merlo Rd., Beaverton
Early Release
Wednesday, October 24, 2018
(students will be dismissed 90 minutes early)
Community Health Education K-12 Information Night
Wednesday, October 24, 2018
6:30 - 7:30 p.m.
Meadow Park Middle School
14100 SW Downing St.
Beaverton, 97006
Budget Listening & Learning Session
Monday, October 29, 2018
6:30 p.m.
William Walker Elementary @118th
650 NW 118th Ave.
Portland, 97229
Staff Spotlight: Prachee Bhatnagar, Paraeducator II SRC, Cedar Park Middle School
What is an SRC? It stands for Structured Routines Center. The Structured Routines Center is a specialized program that provides services to students whose Individual Education Plans (IEPs) demonstrate a need for communication, socialization, life skills, and academic instruction, as well as provision of sensory supports. Prachee Bhatnagar is a paraeducator in the SRC at Cedar Park Middle School. “My job is so fun, it is coined as the SRC, but that is the least of what we do,” she says. “We do have a schedule, but we work with the kids to deal with changes and to be flexible.”
Prachee, a truly bubbly and happy person, has been working in the SRC at Cedar Park Middle School for six years now and has been with the District for 11 years. She started as a parent volunteer in her children’s’ classrooms. “One of my daughter’s teachers said, “I think you have all of the qualities of a good assistant” and I thought, I love working with kids and volunteering so much, so why not make even more of an impact on kids.” So, she began her career as an Instructional Assistant in the kindergarten at Ridgewood Elementary School. “They say whatever you need to learn for the rest of your life you learn in kindergarten and that is so true,” laughs Prachee.
At Cedar Park Middle School, the SRC used to be a self-contained classroom. But over the last couple of years, the program has become more inclusive. A number of students now participate in general education classes and the entire SRC is now included in P.E., Art and Drama. Prachee says the SRC team is very collaborative and loves to not only collaborate as a team, but also with all of the general education teachers in the building.
Prachee says her favorite thing about her job is helping students work through their disabilities to become more flexible and successful. “We have to figure out how to unlock whatever it is behind the door in each student’s brain – to find the key to each of those locks is the quest in this classroom.”
In her spare time, Prachee and her family enjoy being outdoors, hiking, walking, sightseeing and traveling. Their favorite thing to do is to get together with friends and play games. She and her husband recently adopted an Aussiedoodle puppy they named Tofu. Prachee’s advice to others in her profession, “My best advice is to be flexible, be ready to go with the flow, be ready to learn a lot, be a kid, and just laugh and have fun!”
Beaverton School District
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Email: community_involvement@beaverton.k12.or.us
Website: beaverton.k12.or.us
Location: 16550 SW Merlo Rd, Beaverton, OR, United States
Phone: (503)356-4360
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BeavertonSchoolDistrict/
Twitter: @beavertonsd