This coming year will be no exception. The positions will be eliminated through attrition, not layoffs, Hellman said. Enrollment continues to decline at this district made up of four schools and more than 1,200 students. That, along with rising expenses and insufficient state funding, to force the district to pare its budget year after year, Hellman said. During the past three years, the number of teachers has been reduced about 13 percent.
Rogue River joins a growing number of school districts facing cutbacks next year.
Ashland, Phoenix-Talent, Medford, Eagle Point and others are under pressure to cut their budgets as expenses outpace revenues. Rogue River has little to trim, Hellman said. It has no counselors and just one music teacher who divides his time between the high school and middle school. This makes our predicament even more difficult. Like many other districts, Rogue River has seen salaries and benefits increase, retirement costs soar, energy prices escalate.