SEQUIM — Directors of the Sequim School District Board began work Thursday night on crafting a budget to carry the district through the 2004-2005 school year.
Advertised to the public as a “community forum,” only two people attended the hour-long session.
An official public hearing on budget recommendations is set for Monday night at 7 p.m. in the board room at 601 N. Sequim Ave., Sequim.
The board is expected to approve a final budget following that hearing.
Board members on Thursday worked from a draft budget of $19.9 million in expenditures, up from the 2003-3004 figure of $19.2 million.
The passage in May of a two-year, $5.44 million replacement maintenance and operations levy has provided some breathing room in allocating funds toward offsetting expected enrollment growth and meeting expanded program goals designed to ready the district’s students for a 2008 testing requirement.
All high school students in the class of 2008 must pass the Washington Assessment of Student Learning standardized test before they receive a diploma.
Line items questioned
Board members queried Superintendent Garn Christensen and DeDe Juliussen, director of fiscal operations, about line-item programs and expenditures such as special education.
Juliussen said projections show a continued climb in enrollment of students requiring special education services, which increased dramatically in the 2003-2004 school year.
