turning at the end of August, Granger said some of the reductions were not full-time positions. Six recess supervision positions were considered as a whole number in the overall count, although they worked 2.5 hours per day and were supported through federal funds issued to elementary and secondary schools, or ESSER. Granger said district administration is working on staffing issues daily. Statewide
School districts across Washington state are resorting to similar cost-cutting measures amid budget crises.
Seattle Public Schools – Washington’s largest school district – is facing a $131 million projected budget shortfall next school year, where it is expected to layoff more than 60 employees.
According to MyNorthwest, the Everett school district board has approved a plan
to eliminate as many as 142 positions to account for a $28 million deficit, and Bellevue district may fold three elementary schools due to drops in enrollment.
The budget shortfalls for all districts are the result of declining enrollment, rising labor costs and heightened student needs following the pandemic. Funding issues
Over the past months in Blaine school board meetings, board members and Granger have called for parents and community members to reach out to local representatives to advocate for a reevaluation of the McCleary decision. The Washington Supreme Court’s McCleary decision requires the state to pay for all basic education costs – in attempt at equal opportunity between districts with high and low property values.
Granger said after the June 20 school board meeting that the McCleary decision restricts a property-rich district like Blaine by setting a cap on its levy collections. The district’s levy funding is then dependent
on its enrollment.
“I think it was well intended to level the playing field, but I don’t think that that’s been the result across the state,” Granger said.
The district will cut certificated staff, para-educators and district office staff, among others due to the lack of funding and around a 50-student drop in enrollment. Twenty-five percent of layoffs will be in the district office while 22 percent are Service Employees International Union (SEIU) members, 17 percent are administration and 14 percent Blaine Education Association members, according to the reduction plan.
Most board members previously spoke on the issue during the May 22 regular meeting. Board president Dougal Thomas said during the meeting that the district only has so much money and has to maintain a fund balance, but posed a question as to where concerned community members could focus their efforts.
Board member Kimberly Akre said to go
straight to the source – the state legislature. Board member Erika Creydt said the board should also hold Granger accountable so that finances are being prioritized in the best interest of the students.
“I think that our superintendent is doing an excellent job in doing just that,” board member Charles Gibson said. “He’s been working on this since October.”
Board member Don Leu said the funding issues are not merely a result of the pandemic, but a sustained lack of funding of public schools across the nation.
“There’s just a slow strangulation of local school districts that’s taking place because of inadequate federal and state attention to the public education system, which has always been the way to move oneself up,” Leu said.
On June 20, Granger said students have significant needs and the district needs a system that gives it the resources to adequately address those needs. He said making these decisions isn’t easy is an understatement.
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