COOS BAY — The faltering economy is forcing Oregon schools to cut their budgets midstream this year. Local school officials say it’s only going to get worse next year.

Coos Bay schools expect to lose $400,000 in revenue this year, after Gov. Ted Kulongoski ordered across-the-board cuts of 1.2 percent last month.

Initial projections from the Oregon Department of Education suggest schools will get a 2.3 percent increase in general and lottery funds next year. Schools usually receive between 5 and 6 percent increases, if not more, said Rod Danielson, Coos Bay schools’ business manager. Coos Bay, however, may not even get a 2.3 percent increase because other schools are seeing their enrollments grow faster.

“The next biennium is going to be nasty,” he said Wednesday.

Danielson said the problem is the economy. As people lose jobs, the state gets fewer tax dollars, which means less for school districts.

Even before the governor’s announcement, the Coos Bay district had a very tight budget this year. Declining enrollment forced the district to leave positions vacant and exhaust almost all the money it had carried over from previous years, about $1 million. Danielson said the district has about $180,000 in its contingency fund, but otherwise, there isn’t much cushion left.

“With no carryover, that means for next year’s budget we would be $1 million in the hole because this budget used $1 million in carryover,” he said.

Superintendent Bob De La Vergne said the district hasn’t decided to make any cuts yet, though he has encouraged principals and managers to be frugal with discretionary funds. He also said he would limit his own travel.

“We are trying to stay away from impacts to the classrooms,” he said.

District officials will meet again Dec. 17 to discuss how to proceed the rest of the year. Danielson said it is hard to make any decisions at this point because questions remain about enrollment figures and district expenses, including electricity and fuel.

He noted the district may actually save money on gasoline, because it budgeted when the price was much higher.

 Other districts have proposed cutting school days and limiting sports team travel. De La Vergne noted that he taught some classes to help make the budget work at his previous job, though it was a smaller district with a smaller budget.

Whatever the district decides to do, it will need to be done knowing that funding will continue to be a problem for the foreseeable future, Danielson said.

“We need to save as much as we possibly can because we’ll need it,” he said.