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Planning for the Future: Ensuring Financial Stability for Creswell Schools
While the state of Oregon faces a revenue shortfall and enrollment trends are shifting across the region, Creswell School District remains focused on proactive, responsible management. We are pleased to confirm that CSD will not implement mid-year layoffs or cuts this year. Below, you will find a detailed report from Superintendent Mike Johnson regarding our long-term financial strategy and an FAQ to help clarify how these state-wide challenges affect our local schools.
Frequently Asked Questions: Understanding Our Budget
Why is enrollment declining in Creswell?
Enrollment trends in Creswell reflect a broader pattern across Oregon. Since 2020, many families have shifted toward homeschooling, private education, or moved out of the area due to the rising cost of living. Because the state of Oregon funds schools on a per-student basis, even a small drop in student numbers has a direct impact on the revenue we receive for classrooms and programs.
What is "staffing via attrition" and how does it work?
Staffing via attrition is a strategy we use to reduce our workforce without the pain of layoffs.
- How it works: When a teacher or staff member resigns or retires, the district carefully evaluates if that specific position needs to be refilled.
- The Benefit: By simply not hiring a replacement for certain roles, we naturally bring our staffing levels in line with our smaller student population. This allows us to lower costs while honoring our commitment to the job security of our current employees.
What exactly is a "funding cliff"?
A “funding cliff” occurs when a temporary source of money ends abruptly while expenses stay the same or go up.
- The Federal “Cliff”: During the pandemic, the federal government provided ESSER grants (Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief) to help schools.
- The Transition: CSD used those funds to bridge the gap while enrollment was dropping. Now that those federal funds have expired—and state funding hasn’t increased to match—we face a “cliff” where we must find new ways to balance the budget.
If we have money from a local bond, why can't we use it for teacher salaries?
Under Oregon law, Bond funds and General funds are like two separate bank accounts with very strict rules:
- General Fund: This is our “operating” money used for salaries, books, utilities, and daily classroom needs. This is the fund currently facing a shortfall.
- Bond & Grant Funds: These are restricted for “bricks and mortar”—building repairs, safety upgrades, and infrastructure.
The Silver Lining: While we can’t use bond money for salaries, having these funds means we don’t have to pull money out of the classroom to fix a leaky roof or a broken boiler.
Will there be layoffs this year?
No. Thanks to our proactive planning and use of attrition, we are not implementing any mid-year cuts or layoffs for the 2025–26 school year. Our focus is now on the 2026–27 and 2027–28 budgets to ensure we remain on stable footing.
Planning for the Future: Ensuring Financial Stability for Creswell Schools
January 26, 2026
Dear Creswell Families and Community Members,
As we look ahead to the 2026-27 school year, I am committed to maintaining open and transparent communication regarding the financial health of the Creswell School District (CSD).
Our schools are thriving—from the energy of our sports programs to the daily growth we see in our classrooms. However, to sustain this excellence, we must proactively address the evolving economic landscape in Oregon and the specific challenges facing our district.
The Big Picture: Oregon’s Economic Outlook
The state of Oregon is currently experiencing an economic downturn. Recently, Governor Kotek and the Oregon Department of Education (ODE) reported a 5% revenue shortfall in the state’s economic forecast. Consequently, ODE has advised all school districts across the state to prepare for potential funding reductions starting in the 2026–27 school year.
The Local Impact: Enrollment and “Funding Cliffs”
While state-level funding is a significant factor, Creswell has been navigating a unique set of challenges since 2021:
- Enrollment Decline: Since the 2020 pandemic, our enrollment has shifted from approximately 1,250 students to about 1,115 today. Because Oregon funds schools on a “per-pupil” basis, this decline has resulted in a revenue reduction of roughly $1.5 to $1.7 million over the last six years.
- The 2024 “Cliff”: We identified this trend early. In 2022, we forecasted a funding “cliff” caused by the end of federal COVID-19 recovery grants (ESSER) and declining enrollment.
- Inflationary Pressures: Like households across the country, the district is facing rising costs for goods, supplies, and cost-of-living adjustments that have outpaced state funding.
Our Proactive Strategy: Avoiding Mid-Year Cuts
I am pleased to report that because of early intervention, Creswell will not implement mid-year cuts or layoffs this school year. We have successfully navigated previous funding challenges through:
- Staffing via Attrition: We have balanced our staffing levels with our enrollment by not filling certain vacancies left by resignations or retirements.
- Creative Budgeting: Strategic shifts allowed us to bridge the gaps in the 2023-24 and 2024-25 budgets.
- Facility Bonds: Thanks to our community’s support of the local bond and state facility grants, we are addressing critical infrastructure needs without touching our general operating fund. This provides us with stability that many other districts currently lack.
While we have successfully cleared the first two “cliffs,” a third challenge is projected for the 2026–27 and 2027–28 school years. We are currently analyzing the state’s second-quarter revenue forecast to identify the exact funding gap we will need to resolve.
In my next bi-weekly report, I will dive deeper into the specific strategies we are developing to ensure long-term stability for our schools.
Thank you for your continued partnership and trust. Together, we will navigate these challenges while keeping our students’ success at the center of every decision.
Sincerely,
Mike Johnson
Superintendent
Creswell School District
Behind the Strategy: How CSD Navigated the Funding Cliff Without Layoffs
January 30, 2026
Dear CSD Staff and Families,
In my previous CSD40 newsletter, which you can find on our website: https://creswell.k12.or.us/budget-transparency-2026, I shared the challenges we face regarding Oregon’s economic downturn and our local enrollment trends. Today, I want to pull back the curtain on “how” our long-term fiscal management plan has allowed Creswell to avoid the mid-year cuts and layoffs currently impacting districts across the state.
Our current financial position is the result of a strategic plan developed in 2021. This was a collaborative effort between myself, our Business Manager, our Student Services Director, and the CSD School Board. Our goal was simple but ambitious: navigate a post-pandemic world while protecting the long-term health of our classrooms.
From 2021 to 2024, Creswell received approximately $4 million in federal Elementary and Secondary Schools Emergency Relief (ESSER) grants. While many districts used these one-time funds to significantly increase permanent staffing, we took a more conservative, sustainable approach.
We chose to use these funds to bridge the gap between declining enrollment, reduced state revenue and rising costs driven by inflation and necessary staff compensation increases. By prioritizing essential student supports and supplies without overextending our future budget, we were able to make critical one-time safety investments, such as replacing the unsafe CMS turf field, without draining our yearly operating funds. This disciplined management over a three-year period allowed us to strengthen our ending fund balance that has served as a necessary buffer to help us navigate recent state-wide funding cliffs.
We knew a “funding cliff” was coming as early as 2021. Enrollment had declined significantly post-pandemic and the state schools per student revenue was reduced to reflect the enrollment. Over the years, Creswell enrollment has declined by 150 students resulting in $1.5 million dollar reduction in state school funding every year. To prepare, we initiated a staffing reduction strategy via attrition. By carefully evaluating and naturally reducing staffing levels as positions became vacant through retirements or resignations, we avoided the need for painful program cuts or layoffs in the 2024 and 2025 funding cliffs.
Additionally, we have implemented creative solutions to bring more resources back to Creswell:
- Medicaid Billing: We have optimized our billing procedures to recover eligible costs for student services.
- CSD Online School: By launching our own online option, we are successfully recovering students who had previously transferred to online charter schools or homeschooling.
- In-House Life Skills Program: This year, we are working to implement an initial phase of our own Life Skills and Medically Fragile Program to support our students locally. This not only provides locally managed care for our students but also reduces the high costs associated with outsourcing these services to alternative placements outside of Creswell.
Looking Ahead
The proactive choices made in 2021 are the reason we can stand on solid ground today. In my next report, I will expand on our Long-Term Facilities Improvement Plan and explain how our infrastructure strategy resulted in significant cost savings for our general fund budget over the past four years.
I invite you to visit our CSD Budget Transparency & 2026-27 Funding Updates webpage to view our data graphics and read our FAQ. Thank you for your continued support as we work together to keep Creswell School District strong.
Warm Regards,
Mike Johnson
Superintendent
Creswell School District