Image created by Parker Heyen
In the past three years, South Salem High School’s spending and budget has increased. This is for many reasons, most of which stem from the COVID-19 pandemic and its effects on the school system. By far, the most expensive aspect was getting things back on track for in-person school. Things are going well now, but spending has not gone down. Here are some issues that the school is preparing to deal with and how they plan to do it.
What is to be Expected Within Budget Cuts
At a school board meeting on November 6, multiple district officials estimated that while there would be no big changes within schools this year, the severity of the budget cuts will definitely cause changes to the school experience. Fortunately for all, funding for the music and sports programs will be protected as long as it is viable. Not much more is known about what will change, but changes are expected.
At this meeting, a plan of action was laid out. After the school gets a full grasp on the issue at hand, the second half of the school year (2024) will see the first changes outside of the school. These changes will only affect the district and not students whatsoever. By March of 2024, it is predicted that the school district will need to start affecting the school’s budget as well. March is the month that efforts will be made to learn what needs to be changed to prevent this from happening again. Nothing is planned beyond this.
The Attempt to Find Common Ground
“I’m just worried that they have no idea what they’re actually going to do about it,
Henry Langen Swartzendruber, a student who attended the meeting, said.
Picture of Henry Langen Swartzendruber, ’24, (above.)
Superintendent Andrea Castañeda showed great concern for the future of the school district and it was clear that she was working hard to find solutions to the issues that the district is currently facing. Another topic of discussion were the chances of there being a teacher strike at the school, as a result of the cuts.
The last thing we want is a situation similar to Portland. We will try to consider all of the requests made by teachers as soon as we can,
Castañeda said.
All in all, despite major changes soon to come, the high school experience will remain largely the same and maybe even better than before.
