Superintendent's Update

As we enter the second half of the 2024-25 school year in Centennial, our focus is both on the present, as well as beginning our planning for the coming school year. With that in mind, this update highlights our work as we assess shifts, anticipate challenges, and continue laying the groundwork for continued growth and success for the future.

Leading with our Values in Times of Change

As we navigate the evolving landscape of federal policy, I want to take a moment to acknowledge the uncertainty and rapid changes we are seeing. Our leadership team is actively monitoring these federal actions, including recent executive orders and guidance from the U.S. Department of Education. While these developments are unfolding quickly, we are taking a measured and thoughtful approach—one that prioritizes our mission, vision, and Roadmap '27. Rather than reacting to every shift in federal policy, we are focused on understanding the implications for our schools and making decisions that align with our core values. At this time, we are not making any adjustments to District policies or practices.

We recognize that moments like these can create uncertainty. However, our guiding principles remain: we are here to support every student, foster belonging, and provide a high-quality education that prepares all learners for success. We continue striving to create safe, welcoming, and equitable learning environments in which students can thrive. Throughout our District, we engage in active work to build positive school cultures and celebrate diversity as a strength of our community. We stand firm in our support of those in our community who may be disproportionately impacted by changes at the federal level, including immigrants, BIPOC, and LGBTQ2SIA+ individuals.

More information about our Board policies and ODE guidance in support of our students, as well as additional resources, can be found in this newsletter and on our website.

Thank you for your continued dedication to our students and community. We will provide updates as we learn more, and as always, we remain focused on what we do best—educating and supporting our students.

Budget Season and Our Path Forward

As we enter into budget season, I want to take a moment to provide some context about how we are approaching our budgeting process this spring. While many districts across the state are already signaling significant reductions, we are in a relatively better position to withstand the impacts of funding shortfalls and fluctuations, while maintaining quality academic programming and support for our students.

That said, like all districts, we face rising costs that outpace revenue growth. Primary factors include increasing payroll costs (salaries, insurance coverage, and PERS) along with declining enrollment. The Governor’s Recommended Budget currently presents financial challenges for Oregon’s K-12 schools, Centennial included. While we continue advocating for an adequate State School Fund, we recognize that, without changes to the funding we’re predicted to receive, we will need to make some targeted budget reductions for the coming year, as we did for this year.

I also want to emphasize that we are still relatively early in our budgeting process, as is the State of Oregon with the legislative session. While other districts have begun announcing the details of their reductions, we are not at that stage yet. We are currently in the budget development process, which will inform the proposed budget presented to our Budget Committee at their first meeting in April.

We encourage you to stay engaged, and there are several ways to do so:

• We recently held a Budget Committee Work Session, which was recorded and shared in last month’s newsletter. This includes my expanded thoughts on the 2025-26 budget development process.

• We have recently enhanced our Budget webpage, which will serve as a central hub for updates.

• The first Budget Committee meeting will take place on April 23, 2025, and we encourage participation in these meetings.

While we are in a more stable position than many other districts, we recognize that this remains a challenging budget season across the state. Our goal is to continue making decisions that best support our students while maintaining fiscal responsibility.

I appreciate your continued engagement as we move through this process together.

Each year, the month of March is celebrated throughout the United States as Women's History Month. First starting as a week-long celebration in 1978, it was later designated as a month-long celebration by Congress in 1987. We hope you will join us this March in celebrating the historical contributions of women in our society.

This year, March 3-7 has been designated as Classified School Employees Week in the Centennial School District. Throughout this week, we celebrate all of the employees who support our schools and students in a wide variety of ways -- both in and outside of classrooms! We are grateful for the hard work and dedication of these amazing employees, and invite you to help us in celebrating them during this week. To all of our Classified employees -- we appreciate you!

This year's Spring Break is scheduled for March 24-28, 2025. All schools will be closed, and District departments will operate with limited staff. The District Office will be open daily 8:00am-4:00pm.

The Centennial School Board is composed of seven publicly elected community members who serve four-year terms and are non-paid. These volunteers represent the needs and wishes of the community through their governing of District policy and business.

Three board members reside in the zone they represent and four serve at-large representing the district as a whole (Board Zone Map).

Elections are held every two years in May (in odd number years). Positions become available as Board members complete their elected or appointed terms.

The following positions will be up for election in May 2025:

Position 1 – Zone 1

Position 3 – Zone 3

Position 6 – At Large

Position 7 – At Large

Are you interested in learning more about running for a position on our School Board? See the link below for more information, including Frequently Asked Questions about the process of becoming a School Board candidate.

Here in the Centennial School District, we are intentional about listening to the perspectives of historically marginalized communities so that we can continue to build a culture of affirmation and support for all of the students and families we serve. This includes the formation of our District Equity Advisory Committee. The District Equity Advisory Committee will be made up of 15 members including students, parents, Centennial team members, and community members. This group will have direct access to advising the Superintendent and members of the School Board on the equity impacts of policy decisions. The committee will also inform Centennial leadership when a situation arises that negatively impacts students from historically marginalized communities.

We are currently seeking interested members of our District community to serve on this committee. The committee will meet once per month (see schedule below) with dinner and childcare provided. The committee will meet in community circles, with a chance for each individual to share input from their lived experience and respond to topics brought forth by the group and/or the District facilitator. Members may also elect to participate in presentations to the School Board, though this is not required. The District will provide certificates of participation at the end of each school year. Students will serve for one year, and parents and community members will serve for two years, with the option to extend their commitment to three years.

Dates for District Equity Advisory Committee Work Sessions (all 5:00-7:00 pm):

• May 22, 2025 (Welcome Orientation)
• August 21, 2025
• September 18, 2025
• October 16, 2025
• November 20, 2025
• January 15, 2026

• February 19, 2026

• March 19, 2026

• April 16, 2026

• May 21, 2026

Who should apply? Individuals who…

• Possess a strong commitment to creating safe, supportive learning and working environments for all students, families, and staff
• Identify as a member of an underrepresented community, and/or view themselves as a strong ally of such communities
• Are willing to utilize their lived experience to provide feedback and guidance to the School Board and Superintendent
• Have the ability to work and communicate well with others from various backgrounds

To express interest:

If you are interested in being a part of this committee, please complete this application/interest form. We will notify you of the next steps by Friday, May 2, 2025.

If you have any questions, please contact: (503) 760-7990 or tasha_katsuda@csd28j.org.

We are pleased to share a newly developed Negotiations Webpage, dedicated to providing timely updates and information about the contractual bargaining process between Centennial School District and Centennial Education Association. This site will serve as a central resource for all educational staff to stay informed about the ongoing negotiations and any relevant developments.

You can access the webpage at this link:

Reporting Bullying, Harassment, or Discrimination

The Centennial School District does not tolerate any discrimination or harassment on any basis protected by law, and has both discrimination and bias incident complaint procedures in place to fully investigate and respond to incidents that cause harm. If you have experienced identity-based bullying, harassment, or discrimination within one of our schools, please contact your school’s Principal for assistance. Additional information about our non-discrimination and bias incident polices and complaint procedures can be found at these links:

• Nondiscrimination (AC) / Discrimination Complaint Procedure (AC-AR)
• Every Student Belongs (ACB) / Bias Incident Complaint Procedure (ACB-AR)

CSD Board of Directors Proclamation Reaffirming Support of Each District Student & Family

• January 22, 2025 Proclamation adopted by our Districts' Board of Directors.

CSD Social, Emotional, and Mental Health Resources

• For resources to support the social, emotional, and mental health of students and adults, please visit our website here.
• Additional crisis services information for Multnomah County can be found here.

Immigration Resources

• Resources for students and families who may need additional information or support related to immigration or other related needs can be found at our website here.

LGBTQ2SIA+ Resources

• Oregon Department of Education: LGBTQ2SIA+ Student Success Webpage
• Oregon Department of Education: Supporting Gender Expansive Student: Guidance for Schools
• Oregon Department of Education’s LGBTQ2SIA+ Resources

The Multnomah Education Service District also maintains a webpage of various resources for students and families, including links to culturally-specific community organizations.

• Supporting All Students webpage