School board supports Kline's plan to start school year with "robust" program

The Orcas Island School District (OISD) Board gave Superintendent  Barbara Kine the go-ahead to work with Business Manager Ben Thomas to formulate a full slate of programs at Orcas Island public schools. The board agrees with Kline’s expectation that student enrollment numbers and/or the healthy school reserve fund will enable them to continue the programming into the second and third semesters of the 2009-2010 school year.

Meeting on Tuesday, June 30, the board determined that even thought the school year may only be partially funded when it starts in September, with a $250,000 or five percent reserve fund — a conservative estimate — and a likewise conservative enrollment projection of 440 (at the close of this year, the average enrollment was 461 students), they should be able to keep classes going through the year when enrollment numbers are firmed up in October.

Moreover, additional federal stimulus funds are expected to be received by the school later this fall.

Kline said that the idea for funding the budget for only part of the year grew from a physics class this year, that was only funded for the first semester, until the district learned it had enough money to continue funding the class into the second semester.

Kline presented a preliminary look at what the 2009-2010 budget would look like to the board and said that there is still “a lot of technical details in bringing back people and balancing the elementary, middle and high school programs.”

The Elementary School will be fully funded for the whole school year, and those figures will be reflected in the 2009-2010 budget to be approved by the district by July 31.

Kline said that there may be additional $110,000 in federal stimulus funds available Nov. 1 for 2009-2010.

Board members  agreed with Kline’s concept, and Business Manager Thomas said, “It’s a wise way to operate the district, given our circumstances.”

OISD Chair Janet Brownell said, “It’s a good plan to go forward with,” and emphasized that the district will be offering two full-day kindergarten classes. She added, “Enrollment is the key thing.”

Kline noted that the summer school OASIS program is “overflowing.”

The Athletic Program’s fall sports will be funded; the only change will be that travel will be on buses from Anacortes. They will be paid from Associated Student Body funds, using the purchase order system.

Board member Scott Lancaster said, “The reason we have the flexibility to do this is because of the hard work we’ve done, managing the fund balance.”

Board member Charlie Glasser said, “We anticipate — without certainty — we’ll be able to fund positions subsequent to the fall, but we don’t know for sure yet. As a board we’re committed to make this a full, robust year.”

Members of the Budget Advisory Committee were also in attendance, following their work this spring in analyzing the preliminary budget and advising cuts and allocation changes.

Board member Keith Whitaker voiced the possibility that should there be “extra” money, whether from additional grants or increased enrollment, it could be “put aside” for the coming year, when the budget may well again be short of funds.

Kline and Thomas will present the preliminary budget draft to the public on July 10. The next budget workshop meeting will be July 16 at 5 pm.

The board also scheduled another bond meeting for July 21 at 5 p.m. to clarify the scope of the bond project, the architects, and the plan for funding the schematics.

The next regular school board meeting is on July 23 at 5:30 p.m.

In other OISD board actions, following an Executive Session at which they considered personnel matters, the board approved Kline’s contract as Superintendent/High School Principal for another year at $96,809.