The Salem-Keizer School District needs two community volunteers to weigh in on the district’s $1 billion annual budget.
Two seats are currently open on the district’s budget committee, a 14-member group that meets regularly in April and May to review Superintendent Christy Perry’s budget proposal for the coming year.
The committee includes all seven school board members, as well as seven community volunteers appointed by the board. Members serve for a three-year term, so current applicants would hold the job until June 30, 2022.
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Committee members meet regularly in April and May to hear the superintendent’s budget proposal, ask questions, gather community input and ultimately vote on whether to send the budget on to the school board for approval.
Last year’s review was relatively painless. The district ended up with more state revenue than projected, so Salem-Keizer administrators found themselves in the enviable position of adding new staff at a time when most other large Oregon districts saw cuts or employee furloughs to offset rising pension costs.
READ: As other Oregon district face budget cuts, Salem-Keizer will add counseling and behavior staff
But prior years have involved sometimes contentious discussions over program cuts and changes to district instruction.
Current committee members are Virginia Stapleton, Kathleen Harder, Cynthia Stinton, Adriana Miranda and Tyson Pruett. They bring a variety of professional experience to the committee: Harder is a doctor, Pruett an accountant and Miranda is the chief of staff for Rep. Diego Hernandez, a Portland Democrat. Most are also parents of Salem-Keizer students.
Prospective committee members must fill out an application with the district detailing their interest in serving and relevant qualifications.
School board members will interview applicants at their Nov. 12 meeting and typically appoint new budget committee members at the same meeting.
School board members are Marty Heyen, Jesse Lippold, Paul Kyllo, Kathy Goss, Sheronne Blasi, Danielle Bethell and Satya Chandragiri.
Reporter Rachel Alexander: [email protected] or 503-575-1241.
Rachel Alexander is Salem Reporter’s managing editor. She joined Salem Reporter when it was founded in 2018 and covers city news, education, nonprofits and a little bit of everything else. She’s been a journalist in Oregon and Washington for a decade. Outside of work, she’s a skater and board member with Salem’s Cherry City Roller Derby and can often be found with her nose buried in a book.
