PORT ANGELES — The Port Angeles School Board on Monday unanimously passed a $39.5 million budget that sliced $2.56 million and about 26 full-time- equivalent teaching positions.
Last year’s budget totaled $41.47 million.
At Monday’s public hearing on the budget, no community members spoke.
The cuts totaled $2,563,873 and were based on the advice of a fiscal advisory committee in light of state funding cuts of about $3 million, said Jim Schwab, executive director of business and operations.
After cutting expenses, the remainder of the money — $456,623 this year — is made up from reserves.
“Although we show a negative with revenue and expenditures, we are still carrying a balance from last year so we will still have some in reserves,” board member Patti Happe said.
Schwab predicts the ending fund balance in 2009-2010 will be $3.52 million.
“That money is for situations like this and for emergencies,” he said.
The local levy funds are reduced by about $21,000, timber tax revenues are decreasing by $12,537, and state general purpose funds are down by $1.3 million.
State special purpose funds — for specific programs including special education — were reduced by a total of $2.4 million.
Some reductions — $1,316,561 — were backfilled by federal government from American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funds for class-size reduction and other special purposes.
Other cuts
The budget cuts included the elimination of all-day kindergarten and about 10 percent reductions in athletic and extracurricular activities.
Most of the reductions were in staffing because more than 80 percent of the budget is made up of personnel expenses, Schwab said.
Some of the cuts in teaching positions are reductions in hours, not necessarily in staff members, and are expressed in full-time equivalents, or FTEs.
Some of those reductions include:
• Hours for kindergarten teachers were decreased from full-time to half-time — three FTEs and a savings of $123,232.
• A total of 8.9 FTE teaching positions were cut, saving $537,053 resulting from the reduction in state Initiative 728 funds.
• A total of 7.5 FTE teaching positions, saving $395,473, resulting from declining enrollment. The district is predicting a loss of about 135 students in the 2009-2010 school year compared to last year.
• In special education, two positions were cut, saving $151,178, and a licensed occupational therapy assistant position was eliminated to save $51,582.
• At the administrative level, 1.5 FTEs were eliminated for a savings of $105,355.
The budget also included a total of $250,000 for vehicle transportation, $828,202 for capital projects, $1,292,819 for repayment of bonds and $643,355 for the Associated Student Body.
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Reporter Paige Dickerson can be reached at 360-417-3535 or at paige.dickerson@peninsuladaily news.com.
