Salem-Keizer School Board renews environmental middle school charter, appoints 3 to budget committee

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Salem’s Jane Goodall Environmental Middle School got a green light last week to continue operating for five more years after the Salem-Keizer School Board unanimously approved the charter school’s renewal at a Feb. 11 meeting.

The school is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year. The board’s action allows it to continue operating through June 30, 2030.

JGEMS, as the school is typically known, serves 100 middle school students. It focuses heavily on hands-on environmental learning with frequent field work, school leaders told the school board.

“Are you willing to get cold, wet and muddy and work beyond school hours? That’s all we require,” said Doug Gunter, the school’s executive director.

Charter schools are publicly funded but operate independently from their sponsoring school district and typically accept students via an application or lottery system.

Salem-Keizer has four charter schools – two elementary and two middle.

The board’s approval now means the school district has 90 days to finalize a new charter agreement with the school.

Budget and finance projections

The school board unanimously appointed three volunteers to serve on the school district’s budget committee: William Mark Guthridge, Jean Jitan and Jessica Peterson.

The committee includes seven appointed volunteers who serve three-year terms and work with the elected school board to review the district’s budget every spring.

Seven people applied for three vacant seats, but other applicants did not submit a required video, attend the board meeting or indicate their continued interest, said Superintendent Andrea Castañeda. 

Jitan, a Keizer resident, is an analyst for the state Department of Revenue, has a background in finance and taxation and has experience with financial forecasting and modeling.

Peterson is the chief administrative officer for the Be BLAC foundation, was formerly the executive director of Enlightened Theatrics and lives in district’s zone 7, which includes downtown and portions of north and northeast Salem.

Guthridge did not include a resume as part of his application and listed his occupation as retired. He lives in the district’s zone 1, which includes West Salem and a small portion of south Salem, and said he wanted to serve to “ensure students and staff receive the resources necessary.”

Castañeda said in a presentation to the board that the district is on track to end the year in a better financial position than expected, but faces significant uncertainty over federal funding and future labor costs as bargaining with the teacher union is soon to begin.

The district spent slightly less than expected so far this year on employees because of vacant positions, and earned more on investments than budgeted, she said. District leaders expect the general fund, which pays for most school operations, to end the year with about $566 million in revenue and $563 million in expenses. 

“Our budget is balanced because of the hard work last year,” she said, referring to the deep cuts district leaders made.

Castañeda said the school district also faces substantial cost increases, including having to spend about $20 million more per year in retirement benefits because the state’s pension investments have been underperforming, and rising utility costs.

A Friday letter from federal Department of Education leaders also threatened to pull federal funds from any school that uses race, directly or indirectly, as a criteria for decisions or programming as part of a wider push from the Trump administration to eliminate diversity, equity and inclusion programs.

Depending on how the directive is interpreted, it could apply to a variety of state and district programs, including efforts in Salem to create Black Student Unions and Pacific Islander clubs at high schools — practices district leaders credit with boosting graduation rates.

Castañeda said having reserves will allow the district flexibility amid uncertainty.

“These are the moments when healthy ending fund balance is especially important to a school district,” she said.

Concerns over phone pouches

Several students and organizers with youth group Latinos Unidos Siempre urged school district officials to stop using pouches that lock student phones during the day, saying they disproportionately affect immigrant students who are anxious about their parents being deported and rely on phones to stay in touch during the school day.

Six district middle and high schools currently use the pouches, which cost about $213,000 in total.

Nicol Fernandez, a sixth grader, said she fears her parents might get picked up by immigration agents.

“If they tried to call me at school I wouldn’t be able to answer the phones,” she told the board. “My grades have dropped a lot because I worry about my parents…this has been causing me anxiety and stress.”

Those who spoke said money being spent on phone pouches and weapons detectors should instead be used for mental health resources and other ways to support students.

Contact reporter Rachel Alexander: [email protected] or 503-575-1241.

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