PORT ANGELES — The Port Angeles School Board will consider today the approval of a budget for the 2009-2010 school year that slices $2.5 million from staff and program funding and cuts 26 full-time equivalent teaching positions, the district’s financial officer said.
The board will conduct a public hearing on the budget proposal before considering action on it at the special meeting at 6:30 p.m. in the Central Services Board Room, 216 E. Fourth St.
Budget trimmed
The proposed budget was trimmed by $2,563,873 upon the advice of a fiscal advisory committee in light of state funding cuts this year of more than $3 million, said Jim Schwab, executive director of business and operations.
After cutting expenses, the remainder of the money is made up from reserves. The district’s projection for the ending fund balance in 2009-2010 is $3,520,000, Schwab said.
In the budget proposal, all-day kindergarten is no more. Some athletic extracurricular programs have been cut.
Most of the reductions appear to have been made in staffing.
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.
For instance, hours for kindergarten teachers were decreased from full-time to half-time, for a total cut of three FTEs and a savings of $123, 232.
A total of 8.9 FTE teaching positions were cut, saving $537,053 because the state reduced the district’s Initiative 728 funds, used to pay for teachers to keep class sizes small, by $1.2 million, Schwab said.
Another 7.5 FTE teaching positions were cut because of projected declining enrollment. That saved $395,473. District officials anticipate a loss of 135 FTE in the student population in 2009-2010 compared to last school year, Schwab said.
Other teaching position cuts are in professional development coaching, vocational teaching, learning assistance program, physical education and bilingual education.
In special education, two positions were cut, saving $151,178, as well as a licensed occupational therapy assistant position that cost the district $51,582.
Administrative services lost 1.5 FTEs for a savings of $105,355.
Money from the Federal Forest Fund, which is generally put into the capital projects fund, was instead left in the general fund, Schwab said. That amount comes to $150,000.
The School Board’s budget is reduced by $40,000, Schwab said.
The state cut funds in a variety of areas because of a $9 billion deficit.
