School makes do with reduced funds; board passes Minimum Education Plan for 2009-2010

With the Legislature’s final budget approved by Governor Chris Gregoire last week, the Orcas Island School District (OISD) board reluctantly passed the district’s minimum education plan and I-728 allocation plan on May 4.

The Minimum Education Plan was described earlier by OISD Superintendent/High School Principal Barbara Kline as “the floor” on which the district’s programs and staffing are built.

The resolution which outlined the plan states, “It is necessary to make certain reduction in the District’s education program, including reductions in certificated position, for the 2009-2010 school year.”

The resolution further states that the board’s approval is necessary “so that the certificated employees affected by the reductions may be timely notified.”

May 15 is the date by which the district must notify its teachers (certificated employees) of contracts offered to them for the upcoming school year.

The Minimum Education Plan approved by the board calls for:

—  Elementary Program —  a reduction of 3.18 full-time employees (FTE), from the current 13.22 to 10.04 FTE;

—  Middle School Program – a reduction of 1.56 FTE, from 4.34 to 2.78 FTE;

—   High School Program – a reduction of 2.8 FTE, from the current 11.91 to 9.11 FTE

—  Waldron School is reduced by .09 FTE to 1.91 FTE;

—  Special Ed and English Language Learning (ELL) programs are reduced by .26 FTE, to 4.65 FTE.

The total certificated staffing called for in the Minimum Education Plan is 30.79, down form 38.68. No reductions are planned for the administration program, which calls for 1 FTE K-8 Principal, 1 FTE High School Principal/Superintendent, .1 FTE Waldron Administrator and .2 Special Education Administrator.

This year, the  Orcas Island School District has an annual average of 460 enrolled students.

Superintendent Kline announced that with fewer students enrolled in the Middle School next year, the plan calls for moving some Middle School staffing to the Elementary School.

Last September, the OISD board changed the Administrative Structure to combine the Superintendent/High School Principal position, and to extend the Elementary School Principal’s duties to include the Middle School Principalship.

Prior to that, the district employed one FTE Superintendent (who had also administered the Special Education Program), a Middle School/High School Principal (Barbara Kline) and an Elementary Principal.

Current Elementary Principal Tom Gobeske announced last month that he will resign his position at the end of the school year.

The board also approved the allocation of $60,000 in state-approved I-728 funding, whose purpose is “to improve …education and achiever higher academic standards… through small class sizes and other improvements,” according to the district’s resolution adopting the I-728 expenditure.

Last year, the state budget called for I-728 funds to the OISD in the amount of $177.815. The board allocated the major portion of those funds for teacher positions so that teachers who were not funded through the state’s education funding could be brought back to the district.

The OISD’s Budget Advisory Committee (BAC) will meet with the district board at a May 14 board workshop (open to the public) to discuss reduction in programs and the resultant cuts to school staffing. The meeting is scheduled for 5 p.m. in the school library.