The Edmonds School District is trying to find ways to trim millions of dollars from its budget.
Like all districts across the state, Edmonds is facing a budget gap, due in part to cuts in state education spending. While it’s still too early to know the exact figure, Superintendent Nick Brossoit estimates it will be about $6 million to $8 million in general fund reductions. He says they should know more after the special legislative session is over.
“It is very hard to not be able to give out exact numbers for school planning, etc. and thus we are having to be conservative and reserve capacity. We hope that we won’t have to reduce to the level we are holding in capacity,” Brossoit wrote in an e-mail.
No final decisions have been made about where to cut, but district officials are exploring several possibilities, including:
- Eliminating of middle school activity bus runs.
- Changing back to alternating day kindergarten.
- Increasing fees for middle and high school sports.
- Charging fees for 5th and 6th grade instrumental music.
- Looking at classified staffing levels and reassigning administrative staff.
- Making obvious reductions where possible, such as utility savings.
- Changing service models in warehouse, custodial, maintenance, human resources, business operations, technology, and health services.
Brossoit says they are planning to keep class sizes at their current levels.
“We acknowledge the difficult and painful reductions we are facing; we should be mindful that this is happening everywhere. Our success comes from being caring, competent, and strong in our work and resolve to do the best we can for student learning with severely limited resources.”
The district is holding a series of community meetings to give parents a chance to learn more and weigh in on the budget. The first one is Wednesday night.
April 7, 7 – 9 p.m., Meadowdale High School Theater
April 14, 4 – 6 p.m., Lynnwood High School Theater
April 21, 7 – 9 p.m., Mountlake Terrace High School Theater
April 28, 4 – 6 p.m., Edmonds-Woodway High School Theater
Return the “new” Math program they bought for $9 million that requires 4-6 meetings for parents to even half-way understand!
Instead of a Principal in each elementary school, have a “Region Principal” who rotates between 5 schools. This way each school would be run the same and the giant pay would be reduced.
A good start would be to trim the Superintendent's salary at a proportion equal to, or greater than, the financial impact to the District. With a salary greater than $200,000, he earns more than the Governor.