School Board Faces Cuts Due to Budget Shortfall

At the Orcas Island School District (OISD)Board meeting last night, the board, faced with cuts in personnel and programs to make up a $118,849 shortfall, called on resources in the Financial Advisory Committee and the public to help brainstorm ideas to make alternative cuts and/or to raise revenues.

The board had a special budget workshop meeting on Tuesday night, Jan. 24, but did not have the apportionment calculations from the State Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) to make much headway.

Those figures came to the Orcas District on Wednesday and were presented to the board yesterday evening.

The state education apportionment is incoming revenue to the school district, based on the average monthly enrollment of the past four months. OISD Business Manager Keith Whitaker explained that the board must project enrollment numbers in the spring of each year, and report the actual enrollment figures for September through December. Based on those enrollment numbers, the state determines an average enrollment projection for the next six months of school. The apportionment formula varies for Special Education and Alternative Learning Experience (ALE) enrollment.

Whitaker said, “In this case, this year, in addition to this normal process, they had to adjust the apportionment for new ALE rules which required [in person] contact time for all ALE students: those that comply with the requirement, get 90 percent apportionment; those that didn’t, get 80 percent apportionment. That resulted in a ‘hit’ of $108,000.”

He explained that the basic apportionment figures saw an increase of $43,000  over the budgeted amount. In special education, reduced enrollment saw reduction of about $18,000. State grant programs saw minor adjustments, Whitaker said.

“The figure for ALE turned out to be almost exactly what we’d estimated.”

“The biggest hit came in local gifts and donations,” Whitaker said. Those revenues are budgeted at $280,000, but current projections indicate that amount will be about half, leaving about $140,000 below budget.

The OISD monthly payroll is higher than the apportionment payment, which varies from about $200,000 to $400,000 per month, while the district payroll is about $500,000 per month.

After scrutinizing the latest budget reports and trying to find additional revenue or cost savings, the OISD board and administration plan to meet with the Budget Advisory Committee next Monday, Jan. 30, for “another set of eyes” as Superintendent Barbara Kline said, to look at the budget revenue and expenditure figures for the current school year.

The board agreed to a special meeting next Wednesday, Feb. 1, to decide if the unpopular cuts are necessary. The meeting is open to the public, as are all school board meetings.

Superintendent Kline promised the board that they would have additional reporting about the Special Education program costs and revenue by next Monday, Jan. 30.

About a dozen teachers, parents and para-educators and several additional maintenance and non-represented OISD staff came to the Jan. 26meeting. Several spoke to the board about the damage to the school  district’s educational programs if the cuts should occur.

The cuts, totaling $120,388,  are proposed for:

• $49,207 for 1.77 FTE (full time equivalent) Para Educators;
• $16,000 for the school library;
• $3,900 for Waldron Para Educators;
• $23,184 for summer custodial reduction;
• $8,000 for .1FTE Business and Facilities Mangers;
• $20,097 for reduction in hours of non-represented staff.

Even if the $118,000 shortfall is made up, the district still is falling short of the general fund balance target of $100,000, Whitaker said, adding, “and even that wasn’t ideal.

“Ideal would be, at the minimum, one months’ operating expense — about $600,000.”