Not my budget this time, but the state of Oregon’s budget.

The news yesterday and today says that Oregon has an $800 million shortfall in this year’s budget, which has to be balanced before the legislature can work on and approve the next budget.  Apparently the state says there will be cuts across the board, in every agency, but of course the cuts people are worried about come in education, law enforcement, and human services.

Some people are asking whether we can make cuts in other areas instead.  Maybe.  I have a hard time matching the budget information on the state’s website with what I’m hearing in the news, but it looks to me like 16-18 percent of the budget goes into administration.  Could that stand a few more cuts?  Maybe. What about natural resources and state parks, instead of schools?  Tough choice.

One result of these budget cuts could be a shorter school year in some districts.  Cutting the school year short by two weeks means that the district doesn’t have to pay employees for those two weeks, cutting a huge chunk of cash in one fell swoop.

This makes me think of Laura Ingalls Wilder.  If you’ve read her books, you’ll remember that she became a teacher at age 16.  Her first job lasted just two months, because a two months’ school was all the homeowners in that district could afford.

Is that where we find ourselves now?  We, the taxpayers, will just have to settle for what we can afford?  And remember, in Laura’s town they also didn’t have parks, or a rec center, and law enforcement was probably fairly minimal.  We’ve gotten used to having government provide many things that they didn’t have then.

It’s difficult to choose, but just like when we budget for our families, we have to budget for the essentials first.  The tricky part is figuring out what those essentials are.

DISCLOSURE: I work in a public school.  Our superintendent says our district should be OK for this year, but if the school year were cut, it would financially impact me and my family.

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