Bend-La Pine Schools' Budget
Budget Message
April 8, 2025
Dear Esteemed Members of the Budget Committee and Community Members:
As we start the budget process for the 2025-26 school year, it is vital that we reflect on whether we have delivered upon the commitments we’ve made as good stewards of our taxpayers’ dollars.
Whether we are using taxpayer dollars for staffing, providing updated instructional materials, or enhancing our infrastructure, we take our responsibility of stewardship and community engagement very seriously at Bend-La Pine Schools in our endeavor of providing a comprehensive educational experience to our students. Deciding how to spend public dollars in service of the district goals is done with intentionality, public input, and feedback.
We have historically built our budget on the promise that each Bend-La Pine Schools’ student is known by name, strength and need, and graduates ready for college, career, and life. Additionally, we strive for students, staff and families to thrive in Bend La Pine Schools. To this end, we have established four organizational goals that serve as true north for our system:
- Students develop a strong academic foundation;
- Students have a passion, purpose, and plan for their future;
- Students, families, and staff experience inclusion and belonging; and
- Operational systems align and support an academically effective and sustainable organization.
Of significance, we are continuing the work of the district Culture and Climate Task Force, composed of classroom educators, support staff, and building and district administrators to collaboratively tackle some of our most pressing needs in our schools such as agreed-upon common best practices, and a consistent and transparent approach to supporting positive and productive classroom environments. We have also committed to ongoing stakeholder engagement through surveys, advisories, and student and staff feedback. These collaborative conversations continue to provide invaluable insight into how we can better support our students and our staff to optimize learning experiences within the fiscal constraints imposed by the state funding formula.
As a part of the integrated planning process required by the Oregon Department of Education, and to ensure alignment with community expectations, we have engaged in substantive discussions with students and families across the district to assess our progress ensuring student success. Are we
focusing on the right factors with the greatest impact on student success? Are we truly preparing graduates for the demands of college, career, and civic engagement? Are our systems the most effective and efficient they can be to produce the outcomes our families and community want and expect for our students? These are questions that require our collective attention. The 2025-26 budget is appropriated to reflect this feedback, refining our use of resources to provide the best learning environment for students in Bend-La Pine Schools.
Finally, I am pleased to confirm that this proposed budget is balanced and adheres to the requirements outlined in Bend-La Pine Schools’ Executive Limitation 4.3 Financial Planning and Administration. The policy requires proposing a budget with an ending fund balance at least equal to 5% of resources in the General Fund Operations budget.
We are truly grateful for your ongoing support of the Bend-La Pine Schools.
In collaborative partnership,
Dr. Steven Cook
Superintendent, Bend-La Pine Schools
Notice of Budget Committee Meeting
A public meeting of the Budget Committee of the Administrative School District No. 1, Deschutes County (Bend-La Pine Schools), State of Oregon, to discuss the budget for the fiscal year July 1, 2025 to June 30, 2026, will be held at the Education Center, 520 NW Wall Street, Bend, Oregon. The meeting will take place on the 13th day of May 2025 at 4:00 p.m. This is a public meeting where deliberation of the Budget Committee will take place. Any person may appear at the meeting and discuss the proposed programs with the Budget Committee.
The meeting will be available on the BLS School Board YouTube channel or in person. Instructions to view the meeting, attend in person or to provide public comment will be posted on the Bend-La Pine Schools website at https://www.bend.k12.or.us/district/organization/meetings. A copy of the budget document may be inspected online at www.bend.k12.or.us/budget on or after April 4th 2025. A copy of this notice will also be posted at