24
Wednesday, August 31, 2016 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon
PERS: District picks
up PERS contribution
as incentive
Continued from page 1
much,” Scholl said, explain-
ing that it depends on what
budget the next Legislature
adopts.
Several things com-
bined to create the gallop-
ing PERS cost increases,
which are called unfunded
liabilities. First, the Oregon
Supreme Court rejected the
Legislature’s proposed pen-
sion reforms in 2013.
That has been com-
pounded by poor perfor-
mance by the fund’s invest-
ments. While PERS is
expected to make an annual
return of 7.5 percent, stock
market downturns have held
the actual return to about half
of that during the past few
years.
It’s all exacerbated by a
decision the State of Oregon
made years ago. During the
1980s and 1990s, employ-
ees covered by PERS could
choose a guaranteed invest-
ment rate of 7.5 percent or a
variable account based on the
current market.
When the market rate
soared to 14 and 15 percent
during good years, the State
gave variable rates to every-
one. That artificial level of
investment return couldn’t
last, of course, but now
PERS employers are stuck
with high pension rates from
the past.
“All those folks retired
and then the market crashed,”
Scholl said. “But you’ve
committed to those retirees.”
However, a decision
by Sisters School District
administrators in 2003 is
allowing Sisters to survive
the high cost of PERS bet-
ter than some other districts.
That’s because the district
joined others that purchased
25-year bonds in an attempt
to soften the economic blow.
Money from bond sales has
gone to the State to offset
future cost increases for par-
ticipating school districts.
“We got in at 2003 and it
really helped,” said Scholl,
who is starting his second
year as Sisters superinten-
dent. “We invested against
the PERS debt.”
“We prepaid our unfunded
liability,” explained Sherry
Joseph, the district’s new
business manager. “Until the
market improves, we will
have unfunded liability.”
That liability takes dol-
lars directly away from such
things as hiring teachers or
simply covering the cost of
running the schools.
“It comes out of our
budget, and if we’re doing
that we’re not doing other
things,” Scholl said.
Sisters School District,
like others throughout the
state, pays all of its eligible
employees’ PERS costs.
Both Joseph and Scholl said
requiring employees to pick
up that cost could have nega-
tive repercussions.
Joseph believes the dis-
trict would lose teachers if
they were forced to pay the
6 percent PERS contribution.
“You have to be competi-
tive in this market,” Scholl
said.
He added that it’s better
financially for the district to
pay the PERS contribution
because the district’s PERS
responsibility is based on the
total amount of employee
wages. Scholl said the district
actually pays less with PERS
as a contract benefit than as
part of workers’ salaries.
Another ingredient in the
school district’s financial pic-
ture involves enrollment. The
State allocates funding based
on the number of students
in a district. Sisters’ enroll-
ment had been declining by
3 to 5 percent until it showed
a slight gain last academic
year.
It will be a few weeks
before the district has a
solid enrollment number.
Even after that is known,
the State’s per-student allo-
cation won’t be revealed for
months.
EAGLES: Library
will host raptor art
display next month
Continued from page 20
As I approached the east
end of the bridge there it was,
another adult baldy coming
at me like a F-16, as though
someone had said to it, “Hey!
Get going! Jim’s almost at the
west end of the bridge!”
When I crossed the Clark
Fork the last time I saw two
more adult bald eagles, but
when I crossed the Coeur
d’Alene River, no one was
there to cheer me on.
I stopped at the Lake
Coeur d’Alene overlook to
enjoy the scenic view of that
enormous inland lake: a left-
over from the magnificent
Bretz Floods, named for J.
Harlen Bretz, an American
geologist best known for his
persistence that led to the
acceptance of the Missoula
Floods carving out the
Columbia Gorge.
Yes, I looked for eagles,
but had to be content with
spotting eight osprey, four
adults and four juveniles, all
preparing to get underway
for wintering in Mexico,
Guatemala, El Salvador,
Costa Rico and other points
south.
Crossing the Columbia
into Oregon netted me one
more immature baldy, but
from then on to Sisters I had
to be content with a golden
soaring over the pillow lavas
of Cow Canyon on Highway
97 north of Madras.
Oh, and while we’re on
the subject of eagles: For all
of September the Friends
of the Sisters Library Art
Committee will have an
exhibit of local artists’ and
photographers’ raptor art on
display in the Sisters Library,
and if we can find a way to
schedule it, I’ll be giving a
raptor talk. Hope to see ya!
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