Hood River County School District Superintendent Dan Goldman believes the district is in a position for the first time in a number of years to put programs back into its budget rather than cutting, but they still have to prepare for cost increases coming soon.  Goldman notes Public Employee Retirement System costs will go up in 2017-18, along with impacts from the Affordable Care Act and the state’s minimum wage increases.  But he notes the district has set up a $1,800,000 biennial reserve fund to protect itself from changes that come from the legislative level.  Goldman says proposals for 2016-17 include adding two physical education teachers for elementary schools, adding counselor positions at the elementary level, returning foreign language instruction to the middle schools, and adding another teacher to the high school’s alternative program.  The first district budget committee meeting will be May 4 at 6 p.m. at Hood River Valley High School.