Whitmore Classical Academy would like to wish everyone a great 2025/2026 school year. We look forward to partnering with our community in the Fall of 2026 when we open our doors with an additional education option for Florence families. We also look forward to engaging with homeschool families as well as students and families in our other local schools as we offer enrichment activities and experiences we hope will benefit everyone.

We recognize there have been questions raised on social media about cuts and proposed cuts in the local school district. Some have pointed to Whitmore Classical Academy being a source of the cuts which is inaccurate. Here is some information to make note of:

1. For 2025, Oregon is 15th out of all the states in the country in per student funding (https://worldpopulationreview.com/.../per-pupil-spending...

2. Public school district funding from the state of Oregon increases every biennium. Oregon's 2025 education budget features a record-setting $11.4 billion for the State School Fund for the 2025-27 biennium, a 11% increase from the previous budget cycle. For the 2023-25 biennium, the Oregon Legislature approved a State School Fund budget of $10.2 billion, an increase of $700 million from the previous biennium.

3. Regardless of this increase from last biennium, public school district cuts are happening all over Oregon. When we asked Superintendent Andy Grzeskowiak why there are cuts in the Siuslaw School District he stated the following: “Over the past 5 years there has been a slight decline in student enrollment, roughly 50 students on average over the last 5 years. The decline has been from 1240 students to roughly 1190 students now. State funding has not kept up with either the cost of inflation or associated payroll costs.”

4. Oregon Public Broadcasting also published an article in May 2025 that described what is happening to cause districts to make budget cuts. (https://www.opb.org/.../oregon-school-districts-grapple.../) Of note:

a. The header reads: “Declining birth rates and rising inflation, along with state and federal funding uncertainties, remain ongoing barriers as Oregon school districts balance their budgets for next year”

b. “Families in the United States are getting smaller. As birth rates decline, so, too, does school enrollment. That’s a major budget consideration for Oregon school districts.”

c. “…increased costs for schools to the Public Employee Retirement System, or PERS, in the next two years are expected to more than wipe out the governor’s proposed increases in school funding.”

5. Whitmore Classical Academy, a public, tuition free charter school available to all students, will be opening its doors Fall of 2026-next school year. State funding will not be allocated to WCA until July 2026. No public funds have gone to the Charter School to date.

6. The per student funding for all Siuslaw School District students, including Whitmore Classical Academy students, will go to the district. The Siuslaw School District receives other state and federal funds in addition to these per student funds. Whitmore Classical Academy will receive 80% of the per student funding dollars for each of the students that they have enrolled and are serving. 20% of the per student funding for Whitmore Classical Academy students remains with the Siuslaw School District even though they are not educating those students. NONE of the other funding received by the Siuslaw School District from the state and federal government is received by Whitmore Classical Academy.

7. The assertion has been made that Whitmore Classical Academy is “taking funds from the district.” Whitmore Classical Academy will receive 80% of the per student funding that is received by the district to educate those specific students 100%. Siuslaw School Districts keeps the remaining 20% of the per student funding, and the remaining pots of state and federal funds, and will not be educating the Whitmore Classical Academy students.

8. Some Whitmore Classical Academy students will come from the Siuslaw School District classrooms. However, Whitmore Classical Academy will also draw students from surrounding communities and homeschool families-all of whom have not been on the Siuslaw School District rolls before and this is expected to bring new money to the district from those students.

9. The rest of Whitmore Classical Academy’s funding will come from grants, donations and fundraising.

10. Whitmore Classical Academy is in escrow for the former Rite-Aid building. It has been vacant for two years. They selected this building after an exhaustive search for both leasing and purchasing options. This was the economical option. All of the funds for the down payment for the purchase and the build-out are coming from private donations.

11. The former Rite-Aid building is zoned for a school.

12. We have seen statements on social media that we have been unwilling to discuss these things in a public setting, yet nobody has approached us. All of the charter school board meetings are public meetings.

13. All parents are taxpayers, including those that choose the traditional school, charter school, homeschool, or private school to meet their children’s educational needs. As taxpayers, their choices matter.

14. There are 136 public charter schools in Oregon.

We look forward to a positive partnership with our local schools, families and the greater Florence community and we are always available to answer questions that you have.

If you have questions or would like to meet individually or as a group with representatives from Whitmore Classical Academy, please email your request at info@siuslawvalleycharterschool.com.