In the wake of statewide education cuts, the Tacoma School District has fared much better than its struggling South Sound counterparts.
No layoffs. No program cuts. No class size changes. No hikes in extracurricular or sports fees.
The district was able to avoid major cuts this year because of federal stimulus money and one-time carryover funds.
“We can hold our own for three years,” said Superintendent Art Jarvis.
However, he added, without a fresh infusion of funds in a tough economy, “at the end of two to three years, Tacoma schools will be in great jeopardy.”
Jarvis met with The News Tribune editorial board last week to set the stage for a school levy renewal on the February ballot.
For now, $18.56 million in federal stimulus funds will help the district weather state education cuts and close its shortfall of $21.5 million. There’s about $5.65 million in one-time carryover funds available that will be drawn on to bridge the rest of the gap.
Tacoma public schools receive significant federal funding because of size – 29,500 students last year, making it Washington’s second-largest district – and demographics.
“We have a large special education program, and our poverty rate is above 50 percent,” chief financial officer Ron Hack said.
In May, 58.8 percent of students received free or reduced-price lunches, compared with the statewide rate of 40.3 percent. For the 2008-2009 school year, 12.5 percent of Tacoma students were in the special education program.
Jarvis said school officials did a “systematic, very intense process of saving money” to offset anticipated state budget cuts.
“We didn’t figure the recession would go away,” he said. “Every Tuesday for the past year, we’ve met to review every position in the district.”
Tacoma eliminated 46 full-time staff positions –three certificated and 43 classified – by leaving vacancies open. Consolidating Gault and McIlvaigh middle schools into the new First Creek Middle School saved $743,000.
Also beneficial for the district is that enrollment has remained fairly stable, in contrast to neighboring districts with declining numbers. Jarvis even predicted a slight increase in elementary students, although enrollment statistics won’t be available for the new school year until Oct. 1.
Hack surmised that families who might have moved to the Puyallup, Bethel and Franklin Pierce school districts chose to stay in Tacoma because of the housing market slowdown.
“In the past, we’ve seen a lot of growth and movement to the surrounding suburbs,” Hack said. But this year “we didn’t see that migration.”
Jarvis offered another possibility: “Families might be opting to send their kids to public schools over private schools.”
Joyce Chen: 253-597-8426
joyce.chen@thenewstribune.com
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