SEQUIM — The School Board has avoided a worst-case-scenario budget and teacher layoffs.
The Sequim School District, however, is expected to leave five positions of retiring school employees unfilled next year — three teachers and two counselors.
“Ultimately, we did reduce staff,” said Brian Lewis, district business manager, citing a $600,000 as a “fairly substantial” loss in state funding.
That was less than the $950,000 “worst-case scenario” funding cut district leaders originally anticipated, Lewis said.
The School Board has scheduled a budget workshop and board meeting for July 25, and is scheduled to adopt the district’s $24 million 2011-2012 budget
Aug. 22.
The district cut its staff by six, mostly para-educators but also a custodial job and a grounds-keeping position, Lewis said.
“It is important to note that every employee in the district next year is taking a 1.9 percent pay cut,” Lewis said of the Legislature’s action to cut teacher salaries statewide.
The School Board last week offered contracts to those staff on a reduction-in-force list, and each staff member received a phone call with the news, Superintendent Bill Bentley said in a statement.
“It is great news that we were able to reinstate our staff,” Bentley said. “While we were fairly certain this would be the outcome, understandably the wait was difficult.”
Because of the length of the legislative session in Olympia, the state did not provide the information needed to verify the district’s budget until June 15, he said.
“The district’s business office staff had entered all of the budget information well in advance of the state’s revenue projection, so we were prepared to act quickly to finalize the draft document,” he said.
At the June 20 School Board meeting, Bentley expressed appreciation to Lewis, Karen Sande, Sonja Brown and Ruth Judd of the district business office for their work to prepare a draft budget document that allowed the board to make the staffing decisions with confidence.
“We are fortunate that we are able to reinstate staff and continue programs,” Bentley said.
“This is due in large part to the fact that over the past three years we have continued to prepare for difficult financial times. In the next three years, we will spend reserve dollars to soften the impact of the reduced state funding.
“The 2011-2012 proposed budget is the initial implementation of this financial strategy.”
The School Board in early May targeted up to 10 teaching positions for layoff in anticipation of potential state budget cuts that could force the school district to cut expenditures by $950,000.
At the time, the School Board approved 5-0 Bentley’s Modified Instructional Program recommendations and his suggested reduction in force.
The plan then showed $330,000 in savings from cuts of 5.5 certificated staff positions, which includes reductions because of enrollment declines and changes in the school funding formula, and which Bentley suggested may occur regardless of what cuts are instituted.
Reserves in the Sequim district — which covers the Dungeness Valley and Miller Peninsula and spills over to Gardiner in Jefferson County — would be drawn down to 7 percent to 7.75 percent of the total expenditures of the district, still enough to fund 30 days of school, Bentley said.
Also included were cuts of $100,000 in the district’s curriculum-technology allocation, $75,000 cut in para-educator staff time, $32,000 in contracted services such as physical and occupational therapy and $20,000 travel, supplies and capital outlay.
_________
Sequim-Dungeness Valley Editor Jeff Chew can be reached at 360-681-2391 or at jeff.chew@peninsuladailynews.com.
