PORT ANGELES — The Port Angeles School District has approved a balanced budget for the next school year after a year of difficult financial decisions that included $2 million in layoffs and $1 million in operational cuts.
The school board passed the $55 million budget — which includes adding a little more than $500,000 to the general fund — during a special meeting Thursday evening.
“Our fiscal well-being is very good at this point in time compared to where we sat last year at this time,” said Superintendent Marty Brewer. “I want to make sure it goes noted to the community that didn’t happen by chance. This board and this district had to do some very difficult work this year to balance the budget.”
The budget includes funding for Nature Bridge at elementary schools, replacing 25 percent of Chromebooks and adding a half-time middle school counselor. Lunch prices will increase 10 cents and the budget includes capacity for two teachers and two paraeducators, Finance Director Kira Acker told the board.
The district’s four-year budget projection, which includes a conservative estimation of revenue, shows the district anticipates losing $400,000 in the 2021-22 school year and losing $1.3 million in the 2022-23 school year.
Those predicted losses can largely be attributed to the loss of the district’s temporary 6 percent “regionalization” factor, the state’s term for the cost of hiring staff in different areas of the state.
During the past school year, the district has grappled with significant changes in the funding model for schools, which included capping the district’s levy at $1.50 per $1,000 of assessed valuation and a prototypical model that doesn’t fund the district’s existing programs.
While reducing districts’ levies, which are now called “enrichment” levies, the state Legislature increased state property taxes and provided additional funding to every district in the state. It also cut the Port Angeles School District’s $3 levy in half.
Those changes — a result of the landmark McCleary decision — were intended to increase parity across the state, but left the Port Angeles School District struggling to fund its existing programs.
The budget approved Thursday is the first budget that includes a full year with an enrichment levy of $1.50 per $1,000 of assessed valuation.
During the last legislative session lawmakers passed a law that allows districts that had voter-approved rates higher than $1.50 prior to the levy swap to increase levies up to the previous rate or $2.50 — whichever is lower — without a vote of the public.
Brewer said that by passing the 2019-20 budget Thursday, the board effectively agreed to keep the levy at $1.50 and not raise property taxes, despite having the authority to do so.
The district anticipates spending $5.5 million from the enrichment levy on student programs, athletics and extra-curricular activities, special education and “other staff.”
That includes $2.6 million spent on counseling, nursing, the entire music program and other music expenses.
“The music teachers don’t fall within the prototypical model, so our levy supports our music program in its entirety,” Brewer said of the $1.6 million program.
The district also will spend $740,000 from the enrichment levy to cover special education costs not covered by the state.
School Board Director Sandy Long, who is seeking re-election in November and is running unopposed, questioned why the district is forced to fund special education when the Supreme Court mandated that the Legislature fully fund basic education.
“Does the public understand that we are having to fund special education, but for those children that is their basic education,” Long asked. “That is basic education for those children that are in [special education].
“The Legislature, aren’t they by law, supposed to fund basic education for all children, even if they are [special education] children?”
Brewer, who has been vocal about his belief that the state should fully fund special education and that he believes special education should be considered “basic education” instead of “enrichment,” said the school board and community members should continue to raise this concern to lawmakers.
Brewer said the state has made progress in increasing funding for special education, but that those increases have not yet caught up to the demand.
“We need to continue to advocate with our legislators around this very concept,” Brewer said. “I agree with you, Sandy, that this is the paramount duty of the McCleary funding model is their basic need.”
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Reporter Jesse Major can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 56250, or at jmajor@peninsuladailynews.com.
