SSTF Frequently Asked Questions

The last few years many school districts in Oregon and Washington (and across the nation) including West Linn-Wilsonville have been confronted with unprecedented challenges related to the pandemic, enrollment losses, and continued inadequate funding to keep up with labor costs and inflation. All of these together have resulted in budgetary deficits that districts have been working hard to resolve. 

The one-time influx of federal funds due to the pandemic created an increase in hiring additional staff to support pandemic responses (e.g. online/hybrid learning, health assistants) as well as social-emotional needs and academic needs due to learning loss and pandemic-related anxiety. With these funds now gone, the District (and other districts) has been working to pare back staffing towards a position of long-term financial sustainability. 

In the spring of 2023, the Superintendent informed the school community that reserves still available would be used for the 2023-2024 school year budget to keep staffing levels maintained as much as possible based on lingering post-pandemic concerns about learning loss and social-emotional support for students. However, reductions would need to be made in 2024-2025. In the spring of 2024, the Superintendent informed the school community that it was time now for a reduction in the upcoming year (of $10 million) with another one likely the following year. You may recall reading about Salem-Keizer School District, Portland Public School District, Vancouver Public Schools, and Seattle Public Schools to name a few, making these same difficult decisions. 

We currently serve about 8,950 students across our 16 schools. This is 900 fewer students than we had in 2019-2020. This school year we enrolled 100 fewer students than last year. Until this school year, the district retained about the same number of employees as in 2019, maintaining high levels of support and very low class sizes (during COVID) through pandemic relief funds and district reserves. This level of staffing is not sustainable based on the number of students currently in the district and funding now returning to its state-funded rates. There will need to be continued reductions until expenditures match annual state revenue. 

The Long Range Planning Committee, charged with advising the School Board on facility needs based on enrollment and facility upkeep, has surfaced the question of whether the district should continue to maintain and enhance smaller school buildings through Capital Bond taxes in light of such significant enrollment decline and these budgetary constraints. Or, should there be some efforts to consolidate smaller schools in West Linn given that there is capacity in other schools and enrollment is projected to continue declining in West Linn for the next 10 years at least.

The establishment of the Small Schools Task Force by the LRPC was to delegate a small, representative group of parents to study these conditions and data further, engage with the community, and present their findings and the community’s feedback to the Long Range Planning Committee. 

The Long Range Planning Committee will evaluate this additional information alongside their original questions and present a set of recommended options to the School Board. 

We all care about the education of our students and their experiences in their schools. This includes how they feel about the location and familiarity of their school and the special traditions and activities each school year brings. At the same time, parents tell us often that maintaining effective class sizes makes a difference to students on a day-to-day basis, as well as having a range of specialist staff available when needed with the expertise and skills to provide support. 

To be clear, no decision has been made at this time. The School Board is patiently allowing the Small Schools Task Force time to engage the community through a series of open forums this fall and then the Long Range Planning Committee will provide its assessment of the feedback and a set of recommended options to the Board in January 2025. 

At this time, the School Board is expecting to receive a presentation with a list of potential options from the Long Range Planning Committee in January. The options may include keeping all schools open and making reductions elsewhere, consolidating one or more schools, or other options that have not yet been proposed. This expectation could change as the Small Schools Task Force process unfolds. 

We are grateful for the strong support our parent community is demonstrating towards their schools and to our students. We encourage robust participation in these community engagement forums as we work together to continue providing excellent learning opportunities for the students in West Linn-Wilsonville School District. 

• The Small Schools Task Force will hold community engagement forums at the following dates and locations. These forums are open to the entire public, and community members are encouraged to attend and provide their input. These forums will all use the same format.

  • October 22, 6 p.m. at Cedaroak Park Primary
  • October 24, 6 p.m. at Bolton Primary
  • October 30, 6 p.m. at Stafford Primary
  • November 7, 6 p.m. Virtual Forum (virtual session for community members who can’t attend in-person meetings). Meeting link will be posted here during the week of Nov. 4. 
  • November 8, 6 p.m. at Trillium Creek Primary
  • November 13, 6 p.m. at Rosemont Ridge Middle School (new Town Hall Q&A format)

  If you are unable to attend any of the community engagement meetings, or have a question or comment that you would like the SSTF to see, please fill out this online form. 

The role of the district’s Long Range Planning Committee is to provide the district with a working Long Range Facilities Plan. With the 2019 Capital Bond projects nearing completion, the LRPC was commissioned by the School Board to update the current Long Range Facilities Plan. As part of that process, the LRPC and school district contracted FLO Analytics to conduct an updated 10-year enrollment demographic study to forecast enrollment across WLWV schools. This report was completed in July 2024 and reviewed by the LRPC. 

At the July meeting, the LRPC reviewed the demographic study and noted that the current decline in student enrollment is projected to continue across the school district over the next ten years and particularly in West Linn. The LRPC wondered about the viability of financially maintaining smaller schools and investing future Capital Bond funding in older school buildings that are significantly under capacity. The LRPC asked district staff to provide additional information about the consideration factors with operating small schools. 

At the August 20, 2024 LRPC, district staff presented the committee members with a memo that outlined three consideration factors for small schools: 

• Cost of Core Operations - What is the cost of the core operations of a school even with a very small enrollment?
• Cost of Renovations - What does it cost to bring a smaller school in alignment with other schools so that there is attention to stewardship, facilities equity and adequate support to the educational program?
• Educational Program and Services Impact - What are the educational impacts that emerge when schools become too small, not by design but by external influences?

After considerable discussion, the LRPC determined to establish a Small Schools Task Force (SSTF) to examine more deeply the district’s smallest primary schools and engage the community with the same consideration factors. 

The SSTF will compile their findings and community feedback in a presentation to the LRPC that includes an analysis of the repercussions of both maintaining and/or consolidating one or more small schools. The SSTF will not be making a recommendation to the LRPC or School Board. It will be the LRPC who will present options to the School Board.

The Small Schools Task Force will consist of three (3) parent-guardians from each of the three small schools (Cedaroak Park, Bolton, and Stafford), one (1) parent-guardian from each of the remaining three West Linn primary schools (Trillium Creek, Sunset, and Willamette), and one member of the Long Range Planning Committee. Parent-guardians are being selected by PTA/PTO/FSO leaders from each West Linn primary school. Invitations to apply for interested parent-guardians will be provided at the school level. This is a parent-only Task Force; no district staff will be participants. District staff will be available at meetings to provide information and address questions. The SSTF process will be facilitated by an unbiased, professional third-party consulting firm called 3J Consulting. 

SSTF members include:

• Carrie McGonagle (Bolton)
• Ersala Tyer (Bolton)
• Bryan Faulkner (Bolton)
• Amy Friday (Cedaroak Park)
• Rachel Beavers (Cedaroak Park)
• Tracy Johnson (Cedaroak Park)
• Jeremy Boyd (Stafford)
• Adrienne Garcia (Stafford)
• Chad Tompkins (Stafford)
• Michelle Crisman (Sunset)
• Christie Bauer (Trillium Creek)
• Norman Wentworth (Willamette)
• Jenny Koll (Long Range Planning Committee)

Small Schools Task Force meetings will not be open to the public. The public will be invited to attend any or all of the five Community Engagement forums that will be facilitated by the SSTF and 3J Consulting, a third-party professional organization, to ensure transparency and guide the task force in its work. Four meetings will be held in-person at different WLWV school locations and a fifth meeting will be offered online for community members who are unable to find childcare or make in-person meetings. These dates and locations will be provided on the district website and out to school communities.  The district and 3J Consulting will be providing updates to the community through the district’s website and newsletter formats (ie, ParentSquare). 

Community members are also encouraged to review the Frequently Asked Questions and SSTF updates on the district’s SSTF webpage. 

There are currently no solidified plans for the Waterfront Project. FLO Analytics met with City planners during their demographic report process, and were told there is no data to
plan for at this point. While the Waterfront Project is a City process, there is no clear timeline for when any type of housing might be added. As a reminder, this is only a 10-year enrollment projection. If significant new development results in significant population increase in West Linn resulting in more students, there would be an update to the demographic report.

The district’s desire is to meet the following guidelines for class size averages, except in classes that are traditionally larger such as choir, instrumental music, and physical education. Preschool: 16-18 students per class; Grades K-1: 18-23 students per class; Grades 2-3: 20-25 students per class; Grades 4-5: 25-28 students per class. (These guidelines are agreed upon between the district and the teachers union). 

As part of the Long Range Facilities Plan update process, the district contracted out for an updated 10-year enrollment projection study that was completed in July, 2024. FLO Analytics, a Pacific Northwest-based GIS and data analytics firm, produced the enrollment study, which serves three main purposes: 

1. demographic and residential development analysis,
2. enrollment assessment, and 
3. enrollment forecasting. 

FLO Analytics used the following data sources to inform the enrollment forecasts: 

• Decennial Census and American Community Survey, U.S. Census Bureau 
• Birth data, Oregon Health Authority 
• Population estimates and forecasts, Portland State University Population Research Center 
• Current enrollment data, WLWV School District 
• Land use data, Clackamas County and the Cities of West Linn and Wilsonville
• Housing characteristics and spatial data, Metro 
• Additional data was collected from Washington County and the City of Tualatin, as a small portion of this area is within the WLWV School District boundary

FLO Analytics is one of the leading GIS and data analytics companies in the Pacific Northwest with offices in Oregon, Washington and New England. Clients include large school districts such as Seattle Public Schools, Portland Public School District, Salem-Keizer School District, North Clackamas School District, Tacoma Public Schools, Beaverton School District, Vancouver School District, Evergreen School District, Tigard-Tualatin School District as well as local government agencies and public entities. 

More information about the demographic study methodology can be found in the enrollment forecast report. 

The initial loss of enrollment for the district as well as all districts across Oregon, came during the COVID-19 pandemic and restrictive attendance protocols. Parents chose other educational options including private schools, online or home schooling.

Continued declining enrollment (post-pandemic) in West Linn has been attributed to three main factors:

• Low birth rates nationwide
• High housing costs and lack of housing inventory for young families looking to move into the school district
• Limited housing development planned in West Linn

Enrollment is projected to increase in Wilsonville due to the residential development across the City. The largest increase will be in the Frog Pond Neighborhood, where residential housing is currently being built and is projected to add more than 1,800 housing units when complete.

The current and projected enrollment growth is in Wilsonville and not in West Linn.  Frog Pond Primary is scheduled to open for the 2025-26 school year in the Frog Pond Neighborhood of Wilsonville where more than 1,800 housing units are expected to be completed. Currently, students that reside in or around the Frog Pond Neighborhood attend either Boeckman Creek Primary or Stafford Primary. Boeckman Creek Primary is already nearing its school capacity, and is projected to exceed its capacity within the next five years, even without the opening of Frog Pond Primary.

If one or more small schools are consolidated, primary school boundaries will need to be adjusted. Any decision by the School Board to consolidate one or more small schools would require boundary adjustments to determine where students would attend school. Transportation routes would be adjusted accordingly. 

Part of SSTF’s work will be considering the possibilities of boundary adjustments and impacts on primary school enrollment.

Frog Pond Primary School is designed in two phases based on development projections. The first phase, which is expected to be completed in the Fall of 2025, is for 300 students. The second phase will be introduced in a future bond when the Frog Pond Housing Development builds out. Full completion of Frog Pond Primary School will have a capacity of 550.

This question may be considered by the Small Schools Task Force in the process of studying the consideration factors of small schools and impacts of boundary adjustments.

This answer may vary across districts in Oregon and nationally. In West Linn-Wilsonville, the district has chosen to build primary schools with an enrollment capacity of 400-550 students. The exception was Boones Ferry Primary, which was built with a capacity of 775 students. Within a few years, the district received feedback from students, parents, and staff that this size felt too big for a primary school. Plans for the new Lowrie Primary school were drafted shortly thereafter. Learning capacity is discussed in the Long Range Facilities Plan. The SSTF and community are encouraged to review the plan itself and the appendix addressing capacity.

If one or more of the schools are consolidated, then classified (paraeducators) and certified (teachers) staff will be transferred to other open schools.  Staff may express their preferences for a new work location and we always do our best to meet their requests.  We consider staff preferences, staff qualifications/certifications and school openings when working through transfers to new buildings.

Since students will also be moving to new buildings in the event of a consolidation, teachers and support staff will likely need to move with them.  This helps with maintaining smaller class sizes even in larger schools.  

Additionally, the district experiences attrition of staff each year due to retirements, family moves, new jobs, etc. and this creates openings that would be available for any people experiencing transfers. For example, if a building engineer somewhere in the district resigns over the summer, then that position could be filled by transferring the engineer from a building that was consolidated.

If a district experiences a need to reduce staff across the district (ie, reduction in force) while simultaneously consolidating one or more schools, then the reductions are based on agreements in union contracts and legislation, which prioritizes seniority of experience.  Staff with the least seniority experience reductions first, independent of their current building placement.  For example, a teacher in their first year of teaching at a larger school may be reduced and their position filled by a more experienced teacher from somewhere in the district.

If the district has property that has been determined as surplus and is not planned for any educational purpose, according to policy the School Board of Directors will make the final determination whether to keep the building and property for District use, lease it to another public entity, or determine that it is surplus real property to be sold. To date, the Board has held no discussions about the potential of any of the three small schools. 

School size and class size are two significantly different calculations. Class sizes will likely increase next school year regardless of the outcome of the Small Schools Task Force process due to budget constraints. Consolidating one or more schools would likely increase the overall enrollment at the impacted schools, but consolidation would not increase class size. Financial savings from consolidating small schools would mitigate expected increases to class size by limiting the amount of teaching staff that would possibly need to be reduced.

Prior to 2022-2023, the district hired substitute teachers through its HR Office. This required staff’s time to recruit, interview, hire and deploy substitute teachers. Starting in 2023, the district chose to contract this service to EduStaff. They
recruit, hire and train all the substitutes (for multiple school districts in Oregon) and then deploy them to openings in the WLWV School District as well as other districts using their
services. This is now a vendor contract budgeted under “Purchased Services”. The cost of using EduStaff is approximately the same as when the school district ran the
process and paid the substitutes ourselves.

That said, school districts in Oregon are seeing substitute USAGE increase, however, as new legislation (e.g. Paid Leave Oregon) allows for Oregon employees to take more time off from work. Increased usage results in increased cost. The more substitutes we need, the more we need to allocate cost to cover payment for them.

The local option levy was renewed in November 2023 and continues to help fund current classroom teachers, counselors, and support staff across all 16 district schools in 2024-2025 (approximately $13.5 million or 9% of general fund revenue). These positions were not eliminated during the budget reductions, rather they assisted the district with ensuring that class sizes stayed in the lower range even with budget reductions. Unfortunately, the majority of the funding the district receives is from the combination of property taxes and the State School Fund (approximately $144 million or 82% of general fund revenue). This is where difficult decisions regarding staffing, programs and resources are made each year in order to balance the budget and maintain fiscal responsibility.

As a relatively higher-income and less-diverse school community, West Linn-Wilsonville School district receives less in federal and state grants to supplement the State School Fund. For example, surrounding school districts with higher enrollment of students who experience poverty receive significant additional grant funding to increase educational opportunities for students and hire additional teachers. In West Linn-Wilsonville, the local option levy fills that gap and allows the district to provide comparable programs, educational offerings, class sizes and student support staff similar to other more diverse districts.

There are core costs associated with operating any school regardless of the number of students and teachers. For example, every school needs a principal, at least two office administrative assistants, a daytime engineer and an evening custodian, kitchen staff, etc. Every school has utilities costs, maintenance costs and groundskeeping that occurs every year. These are considered “core costs”. The core cost of a primary school is about $1.45 million per year (approximately the cost of 11 teachers). If two schools were to merge together, the core costs would be eliminated for one of the schools, thereby generating savings.  

The Small Schools Task Force will be studying the effects of core costs and implications of smaller schools on a district’s budget.

3J Consulting has been hired using funding from the district’s contingency fund to facilitate the Small Schools Task Force process. The total amount for this SSTF contracted work
was set at $49,930.