PORT ANGELES — Superintendent Gary Cohn plans to recommend about $2.8 million in cuts to the Port Angeles School District board Monday, but he didn’t have all the details — including how many teachers might lose their jobs — on Wednesday.
The board, which met at 7:30 a.m. Wednesday, rated about $1.79 million cuts suggested by the Fiscal Advisory Committee.
Other cuts will be made automatically, mostly because of declining enrollment, and some will be decided at a 7 p.m. Monday board meeting at the Central Services Building, 216 E. Fourth St.
Ultimately, the district is estimating that all of it will add up to about $2.8 million.
“That just sends shivers through me,” Cohn said.
Later in the day, he added, “This is something that none of us ever thought we’d have to do in our professional careers.”
Although the state Legislature approved a budget last week, many questions linger.
Full-day kindergarten
The fate of full-day kindergarten still hangs in the balance.
Cohn said that the district potentially may use Title I federal funding to support full-day kindergarten, but that it is unsure how much it will receive.
He added that he had spoken with some administrators at the state Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction and had been told that the funds could be used, but that because of conflicting information, he was waiting on confirmation.
“I would like something in writing saying that we can use these funds, but I may still recommend that we do based on what I’ve been told,” Cohn said.
The information from the state office on Wednesday was that about $472,000 must be sliced from the basic education budget, said Mark Jacobson, district business director.
Jacobson said information is sketchy.
“All this information is coming out very quickly, and a lot of mistakes happen that way,” he said.
“Already this morning, we’ve found several grants that they used the wrong numbers to calculate, so it appeared we were getting an increase in grants that we were really getting a decrease in.”
Enrollment, funds
However, an additional $535,000 would need to be cut because of declining enrollment, he said.
Also about three-quarters of the funds from a public initiative to decrease class size was cut.
That fund — approved by voters statewide in 2000 through Initiative 728 — pays for full-day kindergarten and professional development programs.
At the Port Angeles district, it supports about 15 teacher positions.
The cut amounted to about $1.6 million, Jacobson said.
The district formerly received about $459 per child. Originally all of the fund was cut, but the state Legislature used federal stimulus money to add back in about $133 per student, and that number is expected to go down to $99 per student next year.
Because the I-728 funds are specialized, the Fiscal Advisory Committee evaluated them separately.
It was unclear on Wednesday exactly how many teachers might be cut. About eight are expected to be cut because of declining enrollment, but the rest will be decided on Monday.
The district must inform teachers who will be laid off by May 15, Cohn said.
If the picture improves later, teachers may be hired back.
Teachers concerned
Barry Burnett, president of the Port Angeles Education Association, said teachers are concerned both about loss of jobs and about growing class sizes.
“One thing we are very concerned about on the Legislative level is the reduction from 182 work days to 181 — which means a salary cut for teachers,” he said.
“We are also likely to have larger class sizes, which will damage the classrooms and is a big concern to us, also.
He said he was also concerned about how the budget was being evaluated.
“After [Wednesday’s meeting], the cuts that are discussed are mostly things that had to do with teachers and classrooms,” he said. “I didn’t hear anything that they said that would cut an administrator’s salary.
“If the district and the state continue to do what they appear to be doing — balancing the budget on the backs of teachers and students — that is a huge mistake and problem.”
The board reviewed $1.79 million in cuts recommended by the committee and $304,497 of additional cuts that were not formally recommended.
Although the basic education budget must be reduced by about $472,000, other cuts would have to be made to preserve programs that were formerly supported by I-728 funds.
“We need to know what the basic education funds are, so we know by how much we can backfill the I-728 funds,” said Lonnie Linn, board vice president.
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Reporter Paige Dickerson can be reached at 360-417-3535 or at paige.dickerson@peninsuladaily news.com.
