Except for the past couple years, the state stepped in, supplied districts with dollars to cover the decline thinking it would turn around post-pandemic. Those districts, like ones around the region and state, are wrestling with the same confluence of factors as they work to fit within their budgets.Įnrollment is down since COVID arrived. In recent weeks, school boards tackled shortfalls of $28 million in Everett, $5.9 million in Arlington and $8.5 million in Stanwood-Camano in a similar manner. This year it might not be clear by May 15, the legal deadline for school districts to issue layoff notices to certificated teachers. Normally, staff reductions could be accounted for through attrition, he said. “It is hard to imagine serving students as well with less staff.” “My members are concerned these reductions will impact our ability to serve our students,” he said. I believe that this plan represents worst-case scenario budget planning.” Tory Kartchner, president of the Mukilteo Education Association, said the news “is unsettling, especially given how hard all our educators are working to meet our students’ needs. “We are very aware that each position has a face, name and livelihood attached to it and we feel the impact of each staff and their family affected by these budget reductions.” “This is a very difficult situation, and we made some heartwrenching decisions that had to be made for the organization to continue operating,” Mukilteo Superintendent Alison Brynelson said in a statement. The exact number of people who might lose their jobs won’t be known until a tally of retirements and resignations is done.
The rest of the savings will come through axing of 111 full-time equivalent positions, including 31 classroom teachers and paraprofessionals. On Monday, a quieter scene played out as a unanimous Mukilteo School District Board of Directors approved the path they’ll take and prospective cuts they’ll make to plug a $23.5 million hole in the budget.Ī third will be made up through reduced spending in multiple areas of operation, including buying fewer new curriculum materials. “We know our community values education, our educators, and our children,” she wrote, calling on the school board to find solutions “that do not include drastic class size increases and a subsequent decrease in student care.” She warned class sizes could top 40 students in upper grades due to the proposed layoffs. “Budget cuts proposed for next year by the leaders of our District put the academic, social, and emotional well-being of our students in jeopardy,” she wrote. They also urged the board to rethink cuts of elective course offerings, such as music.Ī few days earlier, she sent an open letter to community leaders, contending the district was overstating the size of the deficit and balancing “its budget on the backs of our students and classrooms.” Students and teachers appealed to him and the other directors to retain social workers considered vital to help students overcome hurdles of learning loss, mental health challenges and maneuvering toward graduation in a post-pandemic era. It’s a lot of hard reductions,” Director Gary Noble said. The school board is expected to adopt the proposed cuts next Tuesday after which the district will begin notifying affected employees. But they could move into counseling positions created under an agreement with the teachers’ union. Four social workers, hired with federal dollars in the pandemic, will be out. So too are assistant principal posts at Oak Heights Elementary and College Place Elementary, health screeners at every school and a couple security officers. On the chopping block in Edmonds are roughly 50 teaching jobs - all currently filled. “I want to acknowledge the challenges we face,” Superintendent Rebecca Miner told the standing room only crowd, some of whom hung around until the meeting ended shortly before 1 a.m.
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