IMBLER — The Imbler School District’s budget committee received a look at a best-case scenario for 2020-21 Tuesday night but was warned the need for possible spending cuts likely looms due to the COVID-19 crisis.

The budget committee was presented with a proposed total budget of $9.57 million for 2020-21, down $432,000 from the present year’s spending plan because this year’s budget includes money for the bus barn and food service storage building projects, which the district completed this school year. The proposed 2020-21 budget would allow the school district to retain all of its staff and make no program reductions, said Imbler School District Deputy Clerk Teressa Dewey.

The sobering news is the budget was built on the basis of the Feb. 25 Oregon Economic Forecast, the one most recently released. This forecast was made before COVID-19 crippled the nation’s economy because of shelter-in-place directives aimed at stopping its spread.

In Oregon, “stay home, save lives” executive orders have hit funding for state-funded services hard by putting thousands of people out of work. This will have a major impact on the money the state has to fund public programs like education because income tax is a major source of its revenue.

This places a portion of the $9 billion the Legislature approved for the funding of public education for the 2019-21 biennium in jeopardy.

“There is significant uncertainty about the financial outlook for the 2020-21 school year. The COVID-19 global pandemic has drastically changed the outlook in Oregon from just a few months ago,’’ Imbler School District Superintendent Angie Lakey-Campbell said in her budget message.

Each reduction of $100 million would cost the Imbler School District about 5% of its budget, and plans are being made by the school district for such possible revenue cuts. Lakey-Campbell said the Imbler School District could absorb a 5% cut without making any staff or program reductions. She said, though, that program reductions would be needed if there is a 10% reduction.

An element in Imbler’s favor is its strong contingency fund of about $1 million, which could be used to buffer the impact of revenue reductions, the superintendent said.

Lakey-Campbell said the school district will have a much clearer idea of what its budget will be when the state’s May 20 economic forecast is released.