The Puyallup School District anticipates having to trim millions of dollars from its budget next school year, and it enlisted a committee of parents and other community members to identify ways to save.
The group’s recommendations, described by one member as “gut-wrenching,” range from cutting teaching positions and paid training days to increasing sports and activity fees.
The options represent something of a worst-case scenario. When the committee formed last fall, district leaders asked members to identify $12.5 million in cuts.
The district now forecasts it will have to trim a little less – about $9 million – in 2012-13, based on the governor’s budget proposal, enrollment projections and other factors. That amount equals 4.5 percent of this year’s $198 million general fund budget.
The district hasn’t used a citizens committee to help with budget planning in this way before. In some cases, the 14 committee members could not reach a consensus.
“It’s so hard when you know the cuts are going to impact students, educators and administrators,” said committee member Marcello Mancini, who has two kids in Puyallup schools.
It’s still early in the budget process, both for the state and the district.
Puyallup Superintendent Tony Apostle is expected to release his proposed budget in March. The public will have opportunities to weigh in before the School Board adopts a 2012-13 budget, likely in June.
The committee presented $10.18 million worth of recommendations to the Puyallup School Board last week. They include:
• Cutting up to 40 full-time equivalent certificated workers, such as teachers and librarians, saving $3.2 million. The district loses about 40 of those workers through resignations and retirements each year, so it may not have to do layoffs under this scenario.
In all, more than 1,180 certificated employees work in Puyallup schools.
• Implementing a 1.9 percent employee pay cut, saving $2.2 million. The state sliced funding for certificated and classified staff pay by 1.9 percent last year, but the district dipped into reserves so staff did not have to take a pay cut. Classified employees include bus drivers and food service workers.
• Eliminating all six teacher training days, saving $2.6 million.
The committee recommended several other cuts, including trimming administration expenses by $230,000 and reducing stipends for coaches and club advisers.
Puyallup is the second-largest district in Pierce County, with about 21,300 students and 2,600 employees.
Karen McNamara, president of the Puyallup Education Association, said her group appreciates the work of the committee but doesn’t support more budget reductions.
“We can’t take any more cuts. We’ve been cut way too much. It is time for the Legislature to live up to its paramount duty,” McNamara said.
She said that’s why the union, which represents teachers and other certificated employees, joined the coalition that sued the state over school funding. The Puyallup district also joined the legal action, along with several others from the South Sound.
The state Supreme Court issued a ruling this month saying the state isn’t meeting its constitutional duty to fully fund public education.
Some lawmakers have said K-12 schools shouldn’t take more cuts this year as the Legislature grapples with a $1.5 billion budget problem. Gov. Chris Gregoire has proposed shortening the school year by four days but also seeks an extra half-penny sales tax from voters to offset reductions to education and other programs.
Puyallup School District budget-makers have trimmed more than $25 million since 2008, in everything from staff to programs.
Other local school districts also are thinking about what to cut. The Bethel School Board recently reviewed about two-dozen possible options, including closing one or two junior high/middle schools and reducing employee pay by 1 percent.
Puyallup School Board President Greg Heath said the looming budget decisions won’t be easy.
“We are in unprecedented times,” he said at the Jan. 9 School Board meeting. “I know this extra layer (of input from the committee) will be helpful.”
Sara Schilling: 253-552-7058 sara.schilling@thenewstribune.com blog.thenewstribune.com/street
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