Olympia school closures off the table for now as district cuts budget deficit to $10.5 million

The Olympia School District has identified a number of options for reducing its budget deficit, which is now projected to be about $10.5 million for the 2023-2024 school year.

The decision to lay off more than 20 employees, including teachers, has already been made, and the board has requested more time to weigh other options before the layoffs start in May.

The board learned March 9 from assistant superintendent Jennifer Priddy that the budget deficit been lowered from $17.9 million to $13.9 million. However, that included discontinuing Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund (ESSER) positions at the district office and laying off 15 elementary instructors due to declining enrollment.

The further reduced $10.5 million deficit estimate came this week after the district received better enrollment projections for next year, as well as an update from the state Senate on the state’s two-year budget.

The school board must approve an education reduction plan on April 13 and put it into place by May 15, Priddy said. Members of the board moved to have another work session before the vote to give them and the public more time to discuss options.

Priddy shared a breakdown of where the budget deficit stands as of Thursday, March 23. She said the state Senate’s budget proposal gives them the most optimistic outlook possible, which could be challenged by the House. But as it stands, the state could provide $2.7 million in special education funding, which is up from previous years and allows the district to spend less of its levy dollars on special education students.

The state also funding a cost-of-living adjustment of 3.7% for K-12 staff. That only covers state-funded positions, though.

The district also updated its spending so far this school year, and it will be able to carry over an extra $1.4 million into next year, Priddy said.

A districtwide survey

The district sent out a survey to families and students that closed March 13, asking for input on funding priorities. Superintendent Patrick Murphy said more than 2,500 people took the survey.

Murphy said the survey results showed that both parents and students ranked teaching and instruction as a high priority, and want the district to continue funding teaching positions to keep class sizes low and offer a wide range of courses.

The second-highest ranking priority was academic support for special education, English language learners and other unique programs. Next was funding for music and the arts, which was ranked highly by students. Fourth was social and emotional learning resources.

Respondents asked that the district continue to fund family liaison positions, which are currently funded with ESSER dollars that won’t be there next year.

Remote learning and increasing central office positions ranked low on the list of priorities. So did professional growth and hiring instructional coaches.

The options

Board President Darcy Huffman said as it appears right now that elementary school consolidation is not on the table for next year. She said the board and general public would need more time to consider that as an option, and there are several steps involved in the process to consolidate.

However, she said it doesn’t mean it won’t be a topic of discussion for the following school year.

Staff reduction options were broken down by location and grade level, including central office, elementary and secondary, and physical, social, emotional and safety staff reductions.

At the central office, the district has already decided to cut 3.5 ESSER-funded positions. There are a number of other positions in transportation, human resources and other departments that may be cut or have their hours reduced.

OSD is considering whether to do away with some of the 12 ESSER-related instructional coaching positions, or family liaisons, at the elementary level. About 15 teaching positions have been identified to be cut to match declining enrollment numbers.

Some other options include doing away with art and music programs, the library, para-educators and more. Altogether, possible reductions at the elementary level equal more than 60 full-time positions.

No decisions have been made yet in regards to physical, social, emotional and safety staff reductions. Those positions include health room nurses, counselors and social workers. The level of reductions being considered is equal to more than 20 full-time positions.

Lastly, high schools and middle schools in Olympia are continuing to grow. The district is allocating 6.5 more full-time positions to help balance classroom sizes, but that’s while no longer funding 7.5 positions previously supported by ESSER dollars. On top of that, OSD is considering increasing class sizes by 5% and laying off 10 teachers as a way to save money.

The board will meet again before it has to vote on a reduced education plan April 13. Priddy said the plan has to be enforced, meaning layoffs and other cuts have to happen by May 15.