Thousands of students will return to public school campuses across the state and around the Sound in the next two weeks. The alphabetized school district summaries below give some – but not all – of the details about changes and budget cuts.

AUBURN

School starts: Sept. 9

School ends: June 24 for elementary, June 25 for secondary

What’s new:

 • Mount Baker and Rainier Middle School start school at 7:30 a.m., 15 minutes earlier than last school year.

 • Portables added at Lakeland Hills Elementary and Mount Baker Middle School.

 • Special education transition facility being built at Auburn High.

Budget cut impacts: Classified staff reduced by 30 jobs; administrators take 1.5 percent pay cut; elementary school athletics eliminated; a variety of other cuts districtwide.

Information: 253-931-4900; www.auburn.wednet.edu

BETHEL

School starts: Sept. 8

School ends: June 21

What’s new:

 • Frederickson Elementary School and Nelson Elementary School in Graham, the district’s 16th and 17th elementaries, open after construction at a combined cost of $31.4 million.

 • New $22 million Liberty Junior High School campus opens, housing the Spanaway Lake High School student body while that school is modernized.

Budget cut impacts: Reduction of 35 teaching positions, six elementary assistant principal positions, three dean of students posts, four custodians and a handful of other workers. But because some staff was added at new schools, the net loss is 30 certificated staff and seven classified workers across the district.

Information: 253-683-6000; www.bethelsd.org

CARBONADO

School starts: Tuesday

School ends: June 11

What’s new:

 • Math curriculum in sixth through eighth grades

Budget cut impacts: Cutbacks in district-paid field trips; maintenance and custodial time cut; reduction in some instructional supplies.

Information: 360-829-0121; www.carbonado.k12.wa.us

CLOVER PARK

School starts: Sept. 9

School ends: June 24

What’s new:

 • Phase One of an $80 million renovation opens at Lakes High School. The Pathways Building includes a Performing Arts Center, science labs, classrooms, music rooms, computer labs and a portion of the new library.

 • Crossroads Academy opens for ninth-graders at Clover Park High School to help boost achievement.

 • Online learning program starts, primarily for kindergarten-through-eighth-grade students living on Fort Lewis.

Budget cut impacts: Roughly 30 certificated positions and seven administrative jobs eliminated; the cuts are not expected to affect class sizes, spokeswoman Kim Prentice said.

Information: 253-583-5000; www.cloverpark.k12.wa.us

DIERINGER

School starts: Sept. 8

School ends: June 23

What’s new:

 • Lots of new student faces: Dieringer officials expect their largest enrollment ever, with an apparent increase of 8 percent to 10 percent over last year’s 1,275.

 • New math curriculum in kindergarten through eighth grades; new curriculum in health and fitness across all grades; new kindergarten through fifth grade music curriculum.

Budget cut impacts: Middle school athletic fees of $25 per sport with a maximum of $50; after-school activity bus reduced to one day a week from four days a week.

Information: 253-862-2537; www.dieringer.wednet.edu

EATONVILLE

School starts: Sept. 9

Last day of school: June 21

What’s new:

 • Eatonville High School reopens following a $30 million renovation.

 • Eatonville and Weyerhaeuser elementaries are undergoing major remodeling; classroom and gymnasium expansion at Eatonville Middle School begins this fall.

 • School day now 8 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. for all schools.

Budget cut impacts: A $1.3 million drop in state revenue affected all programs across the district, Superintendent Ray Arment said. No specific details were provided by deadline.

Information: 360-879-1000; cruiser.eatonville.wednet.edu

ENUMCLAW

School starts: Monday

School ends: June 18

What’s new:

 • Roof installation being completed at Enumclaw Middle School.

 • New math curriculum in kindergarten through 12th grades

 • One-hour early release on Fridays to provide staff development time

Budget cut impacts: Kindergarten program changed from full day for all students to half-day classes with the option for parents to pay for full-day instruction; counselors reduced to half-time at each elementary school; some administrative duties shifted; various classified reductions.

Information: 360-802-7100; www.enumclaw.wednet.edu

FEDERAL WAY

School starts: Thursday

School ends: June 16

What’s new:

 • Panther Lake and Valhalla elementary schools rebuilt with money from a $149 million bond issue passed by voters in 2007.

 • Revamped curriculum and a new name (Career Academy at Truman) for Truman High School, where students will study core subjects as well as career-oriented electives; new hours, too, with classes starting at 8 a.m. and dismissing at 2:40 p.m.

 • Sunnycrest Elementary and Truman High School are no longer on a year round calendar.

Budget cut impacts: Net loss of 39 classroom teachers, one principal and four assistant principals, two certificated administrators, three classified administrators, fewer elective programs at middle and high schools, fewer clerical staff at middle schools, which may create longer wait times for students and parents.

Information: 253-945-2000; www.fwps.org

FIFE

School starts: Wednesday

School ends: June 15

What’s new:

 • Fife High School moves to traditional six-period day from four-period block schedule.

 • Reading curriculum change in kindergarten through fifth grades.

 • New roof at Discovery Primary School.

Budget cut impacts: Net loss of 16 positions, 10 of them certificated; slight increase in elementary class sizes.

Information: 253-517-1000; www.fifeschools.com

FRANKLIN PIERCE

School starts: Tuesday

School ends: June 22

What’s new:

 • Revised attendance boundaries affect every school in the 7,600-student district; kids may catch different buses depending on school assignments.

 • Students in first through 11th grades will learn from new social studies textbooks.

 • New reading curriculum in sixth through 12th grades to help boost core knowledge.

Budget cut impacts: Reduction of about 50 jobs in 980-employee district. Losses include 13 teaching jobs and 26 paraeducators, but class sizes did not change. Reduced summer school offerings, fewer athletics and uniform purchases, reductions to building maintenance, travel expenses cut.

Information: 253-298-3000; www.fpschools.org

NORTH THURSTON

School starts: Sept. 9

School ends: June 23

What’s new:

 • Chambers Prairie Elementary school opens off Yelm Highway and Ruddell Road.

 • Aspire Middle School for the Performing Arts opens in the former Horizons Intermediate School.

 • Raj Manhas is the new superintendent of schools; he formerly led the Seattle Public Schools.

Budget cut impacts: Three dozen teaching positions cut through attrition and retirement; eight fewer administrators or supervisors; some office employee and custodial jobs gone; high school athletic fees rise to $100 a sport from $75 for most sports; the football pay-to-play fee is $125; middle school sports assessments rise to $60 per sport from $40.

Information: 360-412-4400; www.nthurston.k12.wa.us

ORTING

School starts: Wednesday

School ends: June 17

What’s new:

 • Superintendent Michelle Curry

 • Orting Middle School Principal Springy Yamasaki

 • Orting Primary School Principal Robin Totten

Budget cut impacts: Cuts totaling $671,000 include the loss of eight teaching staff members, four of those by attrition; other cuts in instructional materials, travel and other services

Information: 360-893-6500; www.orting.wednet.edu

PENINSULA

School starts: Wednesday

Last day of school: June 18

What’s new:

 • School lunch prices up by 25 cents to $2.25 at elementary schools and to $2.50 at middle and high schools. A milk carton now costs 50 cents at all schools, up by 15 cents.

 • New algebra and geometry curricula at the high schools.

 • New textbooks for Spanish 1 and 2 in eighth through 12th grades

 • Two-classroom portable building at Kopachuck Middle School.

Budget cut impacts: Loss of 23 certificated positions, plus 10-15 classified staff; reductions in staff and/or hours in counseling, custodial, maintenance, clerical and transportation services; all-day kindergarten reduced to four days a week; pay-to-play fees rise to $100 per sport from $65 at the high schools; middle school fees rise to $25 from $15.

Information: 253-530-1000; www.psd401.net

PUYALLUP

School starts: Wednesday

School ends: June 16

Whats new:

 • $15 million Puyallup High School East Campus building opens.

 • New athletic academic policy requires a minimum 2.0 grade-point average the previous semester and passing five out of six classes for participation.

 • Junior high and high school students start late on Wednesdays to give staff time for professional development; this replaces Wednesday early release for secondary students.

Budget cut impacts: About 110 teaching positions lost, including the elimination of 28 instructional coach jobs, but due to attrition and other factors, only about 20 teachers remain in the layoff pool; Hilltop Elementary School closed; full-day kindergarten eliminated; bus routes slashed; athletic fees raised.

Information: 253-841-1301; www.puyallup.k12.wa.us

STEILACOOM

School starts: Thursday

School ends: June 17

What’s new:

 • Cathy Davidson leads district as interim superintendent.

 • New turf installed on the football/soccer field at Steilacoom High School.

 • Activity bus fees increase to $2 a trip from $1.

Budget cut impacts: After-school activities at elementary schools eliminated; football and fast-pitch at the middle school eliminated; some classified jobs realigned; some hours reduced.

Information: 253-983-2200; www.steilacoom.k12.wa.us

SUMNER

School starts: Sept. 8

School ends: June 21

What’s new:

 • District’s ninth elementary school, as yet unnamed, opens in the Cascadia area; Victor Falls Elementary students go there this year while their campus is being modernized.

 • New math curriculum in kindergarten through fifth grades.

 • Some new textbooks in high school math classes take a more traditional approach to geometry, algebra, calculus.

Budget cut impacts: 15 fewer employees in 1,000-worker district; reduced public hours at swimming pool; elimination of high school athletic directors and middle school associated student body adviser; consolidation of some teams and coaching positions; two-day reduction in work schedule for classified employees.

Information: 253-891-6000; www.sumner.wednet.edu

TACOMA

School starts: Wednesday

School ends: June 15

What’s new:

 • The Science and Math Institute will open in Point Defiance Park, with a class of 140 ninth-graders.

 • First Creek Middle School opens on the East Side, combining the student bodies of the former Gault and McIlvaigh middle schools.

 • Five on-duty Tacoma police officers will monitor the grounds and hallways of the comprehensive high schools, with one officer per campus. Last year, the district used off-duty police officers and school security officers.

 • Geiger Elementary may become the second Montessori school in the district. Bryant Elementary was the first.

Budget cut impacts: The district eliminated three certificated staff positions and 43 classified staff positions, but did not lay anybody off.

Information: 253-571-1000; www.tacomaschools.org.

University Place

School starts: Tuesday

School ends: June 21

What’s new:

 • New Curtis Junior High School opens.

 • Curtis High School gymnasium renovation to be finished in January.

 • Curtis High School ASB card cost raised to $45, from $40

 • Fresh math emphasis through intensive teacher training and new district position, director of mathematics, created by changing title and duties of an administrator.

Budget cut impacts: Seven teaching positions eliminated through attrition or layoff; five administrative positions cut; two all-day kindergarten classes eliminated; all-day kindergarten fees rise to $300 a month from $270; seventh grade sports eliminated.

Information: 253-566-5600; www.upsd.wednet.edu

WHITE RIVER

School starts: Tuesday

School ends: June 11

What’s new:

 • White River High School and Glacier Middle School go from block schedules to six-period days, plus a 30-minute block for struggling students or enrichment activities.

 • Cooperative alternative programs all moved to the vacated White River Middle School campus and now called White River Alternative Programs.

Budget cut impacts: To fill a $4 million-plus budget gap, the district cut nearly 30 certificated positions, made $250,000 in classified staff cuts, blended two elementary schools into one, combined two middle schools, reassigned or eliminated some administrative staff, and increased fees for middle and high school athletics.

Information: 360-829-3814; www.whiteriver.wednet.edu

YELM

School starts: Sept 8

School ends: June 17

What’s new:

 • Mill Pond Elementary has new principal, Jeri Person.

 • Lackamas Elementary has new principal, Kurt Fourre.

 • Yelm Middle School has new principal, Dave Myers.

Budget cut impacts: High school swimming cut, after-school activity bus runs cut, four administrators cut through attrition and combination of duties.

Information: 360-458-1900; www.ycs.wednet.edu Kris Sherman and Joyce Chen, The News Tribune