L.S. Schools develops budget reflecting over $4 million in cuts

JOURNAL STAFF

The Administrative Team’s recommendations are prioritized as follows: keeping cuts as far from the classroom as possible; retaining programs and services necessary to meet legal obligations, such as special services; avoiding the loss of funding by violating law; and honoring the terms of collective bargaining agreements.

The Administrative Team’s guiding goals were to preserve the integrity of the classroom; protect the safety of students, staff, and the school community; weigh the impact to the primary mission of teaching and learning; identify strategic savings; and investigate and eliminate operational inefficiencies. Additionally, the District sought community and staff input through an on-line survey that garnered over 450 responses. This input has assisted in guiding the decision-making process.

The recommendations are based on a number of assumptions that the Governor will sign the 2009-2011 Operating Budget as passed by the Legislature, that the District will continue to maintain a General Fund Ending Balance in accordance with the Board’s direction, and that there will not be additional mid-year reductions passed on to our district during the 2010 legislative session.

Accordingly, the Administrative Team recommends the following cuts in these amounts.

Administration: $ 489,000
(1) Eliminate an Executive Director of Teaching and Learning position
(2) Eliminate a high school Dean of Students position
(3) Eliminate an elementary Dean of Students position
(4) Eliminate an Assistant Director of Special Services position
(5) Implement four non-paid furlough days for all administrators
(6) Implement ten non-paid furlough days for the Superintendent
(7) Reduce administrative benefits and travel
Basic Education : 1,449,263
(1) Reduce certificated instructional staff by 19.5 FTE
(2) Eliminate the TOSA positions by 4.0 FTE
(3) Reduce the librarian positions by 4.0 FTE
(4) Reduce the counselor positions by 1.5 FTE
Special Education: 173,400
(1) Reduce the Maintenance of Effort by federally allowable ten percent
(2) Reduce the Northwest Regional Learning Center participation by three students.
Curriculum: $ 1,017,000
(1) Reduce costs associated with professional development (extra hours, substitutes, consultant fees, conference registration, and travel)
(2) Reduce costs of department supplies and materials by five percent
(3) Kindergarten: full-day attendance, 2.5 days/week
(4) Suspend the K-5 math adoption
(5) Reduce stipends (School Improvement Teams, Department Heads)
Athletic: $ 130,000
(1) Eliminate the “C” Teams at the high school
(2) Eliminate the seventh grade football, softball, girls’ basketball and boys’ basketball teams
(3) Reduce the number of assistant coaches
(4) Eliminate the after-school activity bus
Classified Staffing : $ 377,350
(1) Reduce classified positions by five percent
Building and Department Budgets : $ 470,000
(1) Reduce expenditures (extra hours, supplies, equipment) by five percent
Transportation: $ 40,000
(1) Reduce, consolidate, and realign routes
Budget Solutions : $ 4,146,013
Revenue Addition : $ 50,000
(1) Pay for participation fees (athletics)
Total Budget Solutions : $4,196,013.

Like school districts across the state and nation, the Lake Stevens School District is facing severe budget cuts for the 2009-2010 school year. Budget information from the legislature now confirms that the revenue cuts will exceed $4 million for next school year. 

The district’s administrative team has developed budget recommendations to reflect the decrease in revenue that the school board will consider for adoption at its May 13 regularly scheduled meeting.  The school board met for a special budget workshop on Friday, May 1, to study the budget and discuss the community survey.  The budget recommendation reflects reductions in staffing, programs and services necessary to balance the budget for 2009-2010.

Superintendent David Burgess stated, “This is the most painful process that I have been through in my entire career.  These reductions to our budget will directly affect staff and programs. I am deeply disappointed that the funding for public education in this state continues to erode.”

Contributing to Lake Stevens’ budget reductions is the fact that in addition to decreased state funding the district is facing reduced student enrollment projections.

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