EDITORIAL: School district, board’s boldness not always needed

Published 12:45 pm Friday, April 7, 2023

The Baker School District’s foray into historic home ownership probably will turn out all right, financially speaking.

But the experience is troubling nonetheless.

The district, which is to say the taxpayers, still own outright a pair of homes, one at 1706 Washington Ave., the other at 1503 Second St., that have considerable value.

Not enough value, perhaps, to equal the district’s total outlay of around $865,000, which includes the purchase price as well as renovations. But the difference, if any, is likely to be negligible.

Yet just a year after the district bought the homes, despite some public objection, at least one will no longer be used for the stated purpose — to house foreign exchange students.

Instead, the district announced with a press release this week, the Second Street home will be offered as rental space for up to five teachers or student-teachers.

Considering the tight housing market, that’s a reasonable plan — better, certainly, than leaving the home vacant.

But this change also suggests that the district, and the school board, acted hastily in approving the house purchases last spring.

The Oregon International School concept, of which the houses were part, is worthwhile. And according to the district’s projections, the charter school, which this school year has brought about 28 foreign students to Baker High School, far more than the typical exchange program, would generate more revenue, through state spending per student, than it would cost.

The district’s recent budgetary record for unorthodox programs is strong, to be sure.

Baker Technical Institute has been successful, both in adding technical training options for students and adults, and financially speaking.

Indeed, the district is on such sound footing that the board recently made the unprecedented decision to set the base salary for teachers at $60,000 — a nearly 56% increase from the current starting pay. The district could absorb the cost of $2.3 million for the first year without cutting any existing programs. The district projected that when the current fiscal year ends June 30, it will have an ending fund balance of about $12 million, or 20% of the total budget. That’s well above what Superintendent Erin Lair said is an optimal level of 7.5% to 10%.

But though buying the houses wasn’t a financial risk, it did strain the district’s standing among some residents.

If, as board member Andrew Bryan said earlier this week, the district’s initial ambitious plans for the Oregon International School no longer seem reasonable, it’s appropriate for the district to not overcommit to the concept.

But had district officials and board members been a bit more contemplative last year, they might have reached the current conclusion without having spent nearly $1 million on the two homes in the meantime.

A decision needn’t be reckless — and this one wasn’t — to be a mistake.

The district and board have done admirable work, both in looking after public dollars and spending those dollars to give Baker students the education they deserve. The unexpectedly generous salaries should help the district keep and attract the quality teachers who are essential to achieving that most important goal.

But boldness in ensuring a top-notch cadre of teachers is quite different from adding unnecessarily to the district’s real estate holdings.