PENDLETON — As the country heads into an economic downturn from COVID-19-related shutdowns, the Pendleton School District is hoping for the best but preparing for the worst.

At a Pendleton School Board meeting Monday, Michelle Jones, the district’s director of business services, told the board that she’s preparing multiple budget scenarios in case one of the district’s major revenue sources, like the state school fund, is reduced.

“There’s a lot of uncertainty as we sit here today, what the future is going to hold,” Superintendent Chris Fritsch said.

In the midst of shutting down school facilities, the district is pursuing a continuation property tax levy that is expected to generate a half million dollars annually over the next five years.

Board Chairman Gary George encouraged board members to promote the levy ahead of the May election, especially since he expected the state to take a hit from a drop in income tax and lottery revenue.

“Two or three of their revenue streams are gone and may be gone until June,” he said.

The budget isn’t the only uncertainty for the district right now.

Fritsch said district officials are beginning talks with high school administrators on what to do about the graduation ceremony for the class of 2020.

With the graduation ceremony traditionally held at the Round-Up Grounds, Fritsch said he didn’t think it would be likely that the district could hold a mass gathering by the end of May.

The school facility shutdown is also changing the way the district approaches the final months of the year for seniors.

The state’s new graduation plan allows all seniors who met state requirements before March 12 to graduate and waived the state’s essential skills and assessment requirements for the year.

Matt Yoshioka, the district’s director of curriculum, instruction and assessment, said the latter move means the most of Pendleton High School and Hawthorne Alternative High School’s combined 198-student senior class are in position to graduate.

Yoshioka said the district will start working with the remaining 58 credit-deficient seniors to get them over the finish line.

“There’s a lot of uncertainty as we sit here today, what the future is going to hold.”

— Chris Fritsch, Pendleton School District superintendent