In the absence of formal collection or reporting of district-by-district data, we have used every possible outlet, including regional and local media, school districts, and the Educational Service Districts, to paint as complete a picture of the 2011 Washington State budget cuts as possible. If you have information about your school district that you'd like to include here, please email us at info@educationvoters.org. This information is part of our edCored series on education funding.
The most common solutions to the cuts amidst this sampling of districts:
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Reducing teachers. This happened primarily through attrition (retirement, transfers to another district, etc), not through layoffs. Over a quarter of districts looked at directly mentioned staff reductions coming from attrition rather than layoffs.
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Absorbing the salary cuts by dipping into district reserve funds. In many of the press articles, this was the preferred method of absorbing cuts by the teachers' unions (such as Tacoma). For many districts, they both used the reserve funds and made additional cuts to administrative staff. However, several districts mentioned that by using reserve funds, they have placed themselves in a very vulnerable position should/when more cuts happen mid-year.
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Adjusting the school schedule. This option was often paired with other cuts, but eliminating professional development days, training days, and adding shortened school days to the calendar was a common solution to keep from cutting teacher pay.
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Cutting programs. When districts did have to cut programming, most commonly it came by way of cuts to special education, library resources, new programs and athletics.
A few outliers:
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Longview School District will eliminate three teacher training days but will also lengthen each school day by 10 minutes to make up the time over the course of the entire school year.
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Monroe and North Thurston School Districts will be down 25 teaching positions each.
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Federal Way notably came to an agreement with the union quickly by agreeing to use reserves to absorb much of the 1.9% cut. The district will also have three days cut from the school calendar during January, February and March and will encourage teachers and district staff to use those days to go to Olympia and talk with legislators about what these cuts mean to schools.
Bellevue
The district doesn't foresee any change in class sizes and plans on maintaining current programs while also adding a few. The Bellevue School District intends on using reserve funds to cover the 1.9% salary cuts for teachers and does not anticipate any layoffs being necessary for the coming year unless further cuts occur.
Bellingham
The district will see an increase of $2.3M from 2010-2011 due to the levy. These funds will go towards full-time kindergarten for the district, the re-opening of Whatcom Middle School and required increases to staff retirement plans.
Brewster
Approved a budget of $10.56M for 2011-2012 school year. Reserve funds kept cuts from being drastic, but two teaching positions and eight classified staff were laid off. Additional reserves may be used to bring some staff back, but positions would only be guaranteed for one year.
Burbank
The district was able to avoid layoffs but left two open positions unfilled for the savings. District is still negotiating whether the 1.9% cut will be accepted by teachers, or if the district will absorb the cut and dip into reserves.
Cashmere
District is making a variety of cuts both to salaries and programs. The Afters Program will be eliminated, cutting $20K. There's a proposed $20K cut to extracurriculars and $25K cut in special education – mostly in the form of staff development. There will be $40K in cuts to staff salaries mostly based upon attrition and non-renewal of one-year contracts for classified staff. There will be a one-year deal allowing teachers the opportunity to work non-contracted days to break even on their salary cut.
Clover Park
The district was only able to address about 1/3 of the 1.9% cut by using reserve funds. The rest of the cut came by heavily reducing classroom assistant hours, restructuring of the gifted program, a .5% cut to school discretionary budgets, reducing central office staff and allowing positions vacated due to attrition to remain open.
Coupeville
The district is still working through how the 1.9% state-mandated cut to teacher salary will work out in their budget and contracts. The district already sees $900K in cuts occurring, most notably by cutting 18.3 full-time classified and certificated staff.
Eatonville
The Eatonville School District, as many others, continues to layer cuts on top of more cuts year after year. For the 2011-12 school year, the most recent budget cuts will eliminate the curriculum budget, reduce transportation routes and funding, and cause an increase cost for lunch programs and extracurriculars. These come on top of previous measures already taken of leaving vacated positions open, cutting district and office staff, and professional development funds for teachers being cut in half.
Enumclaw
All district budgets will be reduced by 10-15 percent. Overall hours will be reduced for office, custodial and maintenance staff. Transportation routes have been drastically reduced, as well as money for district leadership and funds for athletics.
Evergreen
In total there is $9.5M in cuts being recommended for the coming budget, including the following:
Cutting 10 teaching positions = $785K (originally projected at 130 positions)
Not replacing retiring teachers = $165K
Cutting all school resource officers = $350K
Reducing drug and alcohol intervention specialists in high schools = $250K
Reducing high school counselors to one per school = $330K
Overall reducing the number of high school coaches and middle school curriculars
Most notably, the projected cuting of $2.4M to special education
Federal Way
The district will take a drastic dip into their reserve fund to avoid pay cuts for teachers and will close schools for three days, most likely during January, February and March, with the intent that teachers and administrators will go to Olympia to talk with legislators about the effect of the cuts.
Ferndale
District will address the necessary cuts to the budget by relying on approx $585K from reserve funds. Staff salaries on a whole will be cut by $1.2M. In addition, 20.8 staff positions will be cut (classified vs. certificated not specified). Despite cuts, special education will see a bump in program funds.
Finley
Teachers will take the 1.9% pay cut but will receive time off in the form of early release days prior to holiday breaks rather than staff trainings. The district will not lay off any teachers but will leave two vacant positions open for the coming year.
Franklin Pierce
In order to address state-mandated cuts and reduce the district budget by approximately $500,000, Franklin Pierce School District cut supportive staff. For the 2011-12 school year, the positions of seven elementary physical education specialists and one music specialist have been eliminated. The district will be looking to the local YMCA to provide this curriculum to students under the supervision of an existing teacher or principal.
Grandview
Grandview School District chose to address the 1.9% salary cut directly through teacher negotiations. At first light, teachers pushed the district to incur the cost of the cuts via reserve dollars. However the district found this measure to be fiscally irresponsible and worked towards the following solution. Instead of the full 1.9% cut, which works out to approximately 3.4 days of pay, teachers will keep 1.8 days, add an additional day to TRI time, and address the remainder with .6 of a furlough day. The district did this in order to keep as many direct cuts as possible away from classrooms.
Issaquah
Due to the passage of the recent levy, Issaquah School District will be in a better position financially than many other Washington districts for the 2011-2012 school year. However, to make up for the state-mandated cuts, the district has increased fees to families for athletics and all-day kindergarten. In addition, the district laid off approximately 15-18 teachers and certified administrators will receive the 3% pay cut. For teachers receiving a pay cut, the district is offering opportunities make up the difference such as taking on extra personal day hours.
Kelso
The Kelso School Board approved a budget of $46.5M for the coming year. This includes three open teaching positions left unfilled and slight pay cuts for all teachers and administrators. The budget is roughly $83K less than the 2010-2011 school year. Over the past three years 38 teaching positions have been cut/left unfilled.
Kent
With regards to the 1.9% cut, the Kent School District has agreed to cover the cut so that teachers would not face a change in salary.
Kiona-Benton City
The district laid off four certified teachers and replaced their positions with less expensive contractors. Due to a drop in enrollment and the shift from certified staff to contractors, the Ki-Be District was able to absorb the 1.9% cut without affecting teacher pay.
Kitsap
In response to district cuts, there will be six mandated half-day teacher furloughs placed before holiday breaks. This is in addition to the already five scheduled teacher training days. These changes bring the Kitsap School District's total days to 175. There will also be $325K in teacher salary cuts, $75K in classified salary cuts, and projected personal day cuts.
Longview
Budget cuts are eliminating funding for three teacher training days. These cuts will be rectified by extending the school day by 10 minutes each morning to compensate for the three fewer school days. The district is projecting 15 classified positions to be cut in addition to two teaching positions. The hope is that the majority of the 15 positions cut will come from attrition, special education aides or para educators.
Lynden
Budget of $25M with $1.1M of that coming from reserve funds approved on August 11th. Biggest losses are in funds for elementary teachers to reduce class sizes (no specific numbers). Some alternative programs are being reduced or cut. Most notably, Lynden Academy – a homeschool support program – is being cut.
Monroe
Contract negotiations resulted in $120K in concessions by way of furlough days (number not specified), limited professional development pay, and cuts in the budget for attendance at educational conferences. There will be no wage increases across the board. The school district will also consolidate three middle schools into two and will alternate the days of the kindergarten schedule due to transportation costs. Officials are estimating 25 fewer teaching positions and two administrative positions due to attrition. Proposed $64.3M budget, a $2M reduction from 2010-2011.
Mount Baker
Approved budget shows a decrease of $184K, most clearly shown in the loss of 18 certified staff positions including both teachers and counselors.
North Franklin
District is absorbing the 1.9% cuts by depleting their reserves by more than 50%. In addition, teachers will receive a slight pay cut. Specific amounts/percentages were not provided.
North Thurston
A budget of $123.4M was approved on Aug. 30th. This budget contributes to the $7M in cuts the district has seen since 2007. Cuts include a 1.3% pay cut to all teachers, 1.65% pay cut to all administrators, reduction of 25 full-time teachers (most at the elementary level and through attrition), reduction of nine paraeducator positions, a wage freeze on all classified staff and major cuts to athletic transportation.
North Shore
North Shore School District will not face significant financial and labor cuts as many other districts are this year due to the passage of their supplemental and capital levies. These levies are allowing the district to continue to function at the same level staff and curriculum offerings as previous years. However, should cuts continue to happen, more and more of the responsibility for basic education is shifting from the state to the local communities via sources such as levies.
Okanogan
To date the district has not laid off any teachers nor have they imposed the 1.9% pay cut on teachers. This aspect is still being negotiated, but one possibility is to reduce hours staff time is spent on special education and bilingual and migrant support. All district principals and administrative staff are taking the 3% pay cut dictated by the state.
Omak
Cutting $2.3M from it's previous budget, the Omak School District is projected to cut 19 teaching positions. Eleven of these positions were due to attrition. District administrators will take the 3% pay cut. The district will also begin charging students for more athletic and extracurricular activities.
Penninsula
Penninsula School District will cover the 1.9% cut by eliminating two paid training days and cutting three full days to half-days before holiday weekends.
Port Orchard
The 1.9% salary cuts will come in the way of two half-day furlough days in addition to teachers no longer being paid for after-school hours on the days before Thanksgiving and winter breaks. Dates were chosen based upon known low attendance rates on those dates. Administrators will also take a salary cut in the way of four furlough days.
Prosser
The Prosser School District will address budget cuts by repurposing staff. Specifically, they will convert current librarians into full-time teachers to replace open positions due to attrition. Librarians will be replaced with part-time coverage by aides.
Puyallup
The district addressed the budget cuts in a two-fold approach, by relying on their reserves and levy money and also through district-wide cuts. Total reductions for the 2011-12 school year equal approximately $6.3M, including a drastic cut in K-4 staff ratio – down 24 positions from the 2010-11 school year.
Riverview
The Riverview School District will see $2.3M in total cuts with the effort to keep cuts away from programs and classrooms. Most cuts came in the form of drastic reductions to classified staff. Specific numbers were not given. District did not have layoffs during the 2010-11 school year and are relying on most cuts to come in the way of attrition, mostly at the elementary level. The district will also be forced to impose furlough days in place of teacher collaboration and training days.
Seattle
To date the district has laid off 90 central office staff members and set furlough days for office staff throughout the 2011-12 school year, but negotiations with teachers are still in the works. In addition, there has also been an increase in full-day kindergarten tuition and reductions in materials as well as transportation resources.
Shoreline
District teachers agreed to the 1.9% pay cut but will also work three fewer days when students are not in school.
Spokane
Spokane approved a budget of $313.3M, $4.3M less than the 2010-11 school year. At the start of budget negotiations, Spokane School District made the drastic move of handing out 238 pink slips to teachers, counselors, and librarians throughout the district in addition to 59 pink slips to classroom and instructional aides. As of August, all 238 staff members had been rehired but only 25 of the 59 supplemental staff were brought back. Central administration accepted the 3% pay cut and certified staff also will take the 1.9% pay cut. In addition, classified staff salaries have been frozen, 13.5 administrative positions have been cut, the teacher mentor program was eliminated, and library resources have been reduced by 10%. Despite everything mentioned, the district was able to avoid making cuts to student programming and courses.
Tacoma
After a controversial eight-day teacher strike fueled by the 1.9% state mandated salary cut, the Tacoma School District came to an agreement as to how the cuts would be covered. The school district will dip more than 50% into their reserve fund to cover the entire 1.9% cut, and teachers will give up one professional development in the coming year. However, this day will be added back into the teacher contract at some point in the next two years.
Tahoma
District reserves will account for a portion of the cuts for the 2011-12 school year in the Tahoma School District. The remainder of cuts will be felt more significantly through an increase in class size for K-4 by approximately two-four students per class. Teacher trainings are reduced by four days, and there will be a delay in the implementation of new curriculum. In addition to these changes, salaries across the board have been reduced (specifics not provided).
Wenachee
District won't resort to layoffs to accommodate the 1.9% cuts. Instead it will leave vacated positions due to attrition open and will dip into reserve funds to cover the difference. Overall they estimate four to six fewer teaching positions for the 2011-12 school year.
Vancouver
District and teachers reached a deal regarding the 1.9% salary cut. To mitigate the cut, teachers will receive a temporary TRI (time-responisbility incentive) pay hike equal to 1.5 days of salary and a temporary increase of two additional leave days. Adopted budget of $210.6M, a decrease of 1.1% from 2010-11 school year.
Vashon Island
Vashon Island School District, as with other districts with strong community support and resources, will not face harsh budget cuts due to local fundraising. For the first time in five years, they will be looking to rectify and restore past cuts to the district. However, the district sees the local fundraising as a short-term, possibly one-year, fix for previous cuts and will not be able to withstand further cuts in the same fashion.
Yelm
A budget of $47M, including $500K in cuts, was approved in Yelm on Sept. 1. Most notable cuts went to school improvements, a drastic 50% cut to pilot programs, and handicap supplemental.
Beth Richer is Legislative Liason at the League of Education Voters.
