Behind a series of locked doors at Deschutes County’s Juvenile Detention Center, inside the cell units where the 12- to 17-year-olds live, school runs year-round.

Each unit, or “pod,” has its own classroom where kids who have committed misdemeanor crimes such as theft, sex abuse and unauthorized use of a vehicle go to school.

For many kids, this is their last chance to get an education and reintegrate into society.

But proposed state budget cuts could mean two months without school for these young offenders, making their schooling another casualty of the state’s budget crisis. Gov. John Kitzhaber and state lawmakers are attempting to close Oregon’s projected $3.5 billion shortfall.

Read the rest of my story here, or on The Bulletin’s website.