More teacher layoffs, cuts coming to this Pierce County school district
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Cuts were made to offset $8.5 million in expenditures for 2026-2027.
- The 2024–25 audit showed $140.8M revenue and $142.9M expenditures.
- More cuts to come in 2027-2028, budget presented June 16, 2026.
The Franklin Pierce School District is considering another round of cuts and layoffs amid declining enrollment and a recent audit that showed the district was spending more than it received.
As previously reported by The News Tribune, despite receiving more money from the state, Pierce County schools are struggling to keep up with inflation and rising costs of utilities, insurance and special-needs services.
Franklin Pierce School District superintendent Lance Goodpaster told The News Tribune on Thursday that on April 14 the school board voted to cut 44 certified positions, 3.5 district administrators, three assistant principals and reduce hours for others to save $8.5 million in the 2026-2027 school year.
There likely will be more cuts when the board presents its 2027-2028 budget on June 16, he said. The goal is to have a projected fund balance of over 5% by the end of the 2027-2028 school year, Goodpaster said.
What did the audit say?
A financial audit of the 2024-2025 school year, published May 26 by the state Auditor’s Office, showed the Franklin Pierce School District was “at risk of being unable to meet financial obligations or provide services at current levels.”
The district serves about 7,000 students across two high schools, one alternative high school, two middle schools, eight elementary schools, an early-learning center and an eight-acre education farm, per the audit. Its total revenue was $140.8 million and expenditures were $142.9 million in the 2024-2025 school year.
Per the audit, Franklin Pierce School District’s fund balance “has continued to decline since 2022.” Its general fund balance dropped more than 69% over the course of 2025 alone.
The cause of the financial decline? Primarily a decrease in enrollment, expenditures exceeding revenues and an increase in district costs “while federal and state funding has decreased.” The district has been relying on inter-fund loans and apportionment advance “to meet cash flow obligations and continue operations,” per the audit. An ‘apportionment advance’ refers to an emergency cash flow a school district can receive ahead of the schedule defined in state law due to “unforeseen and emergent situations,” according to the Washington Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction’s website.
T.J. Kelly, the chief financial officer for OSPI, told The News Tribune on Thursday that although the Franklin Pierce School District’s audit is “obviously very concerning,” the district doesn’t meet the standards of being held to “binding conditions” with the state. That happens when a school district has a negative fund balance at the end of a fiscal period and the district requires more close monitoring by the state to get back on track.
“Prior to about five years ago, we’ve had very rare occurrences, if ever, where we’ve had more than one district on binding conditions,” Kelly said. “We’ve had maybe one district. We’ve had two consecutive school years where we’ve had none. And right now we have seven. I think the inflationary environment, the lack of enrollment growth and several other factors are definitely impacting the system statewide.”
No Pierce County school district was on the list as of 2026.
Staff jobs on chopping block
Declining enrollment is putting schools like those in Franklin Pierce School District in a financial bind, Goodpaster said.
Public school enrollment was at an all-time high in 2019/2020, but post-COVID-19 enrollment has dropped, he said. More students are opting for online school or alternative schools, which Franklin Pierce School District doesn’t offer, Goodpaster said. Birthrates are declining, too, meaning those who would be starting kindergarten aren’t, which affects the funding the district receives from the state in each grade they would have progressed, he said.
Although the Franklin Pierce School District is seeing a decrease in overall enrollment, the district is not seeing a decrease in the number of students that qualify for special-education services, Goodpaster said. In the most recent school year, Franklin Pierce was seeing an $8 million gap between what it costs to offer those services and the revenue the district is receiving from the state, he said.
Seventy percent of the Franklin Pierce School District’s revenue comes from the state of Washington, another 10-15% comes from local taxpayers through levies, and the remaining portion comes from the federal government, Goodpaster said. As previously reported by The Olympian, the state is struggling with a $2.3 billion budget deficit for 2025-2027.
“The inflationary increases that the state has built into the funding model haven’t kept up with the increase in the cost to do business,” Goodpaster said, noting that the district’s liability insurance premiums are increasing 50% next year. “Our current year premiums are $2 million. Next year they’re jumping to $3 million, so that’s a $1 million hit to our budget that we weren’t anticipating … There was no increase from the state to support that change, so that’s money that comes straight from, you know, that’s the equivalent of four teachers for us, or five, depending on their experience.”
A vast majority of the district’s budget (85%) involves personnel, “so that’s where the reductions are, unfortunately,” Goodpaster said. This will be the third year in a row the district has had to make reductions, he said.
“Our taxpayers in the Franklin Pierce School District pay the maximum tax rate possible. There’s a cap at $2.50 per $1,000 of assessed value,” Goodpaster said. “We share the frustration [of the community] and feel the frustration. We’re still committed to doing everything in our power to provide quality and excellent service, and we’re still able to do that. [But] the numbers are different.”
Goodpaster said one of the biggest hits this spring going into next year is support staff for teachers.
“We reduced that department significantly,” he said.
Students of color make up 60% of the Franklin Pierce School District’s enrollment, as previously reported by The News Tribune. When asked to respond to staffing cuts that have disproportionately hit people of color, harming efforts the district made to hire more BIPOC staff, Goodpaster said the district is “equally frustrated by that … [and] we have a shared desire to do something about that, but that’s difficult contractual language to change.”
“The reality is, we’re bound by collective bargaining agreements when we make reductions [based on] seniority and certification,” he said. “The most impacted [are those] new to the profession, and staff of color disproportionately, because there’s been such an emphasis in hiring staff of color the last several years [so] a lot of folks are still low on the seniority list.”
In terms of after-school activities, Goodpaster said “there will be an impact,” not in terms of fewer student opportunities but rather in the sense that teachers and assistant principals will be asked to bear more of the load to facilitate and oversee activities like athletics.
Goodpaster said the state of Washington has a paramount duty to “fully fund public education,” and the state needs to better prioritize directing revenue to that purpose.
“I think that people should know that public education remains the cornerstone, or the foundation, of our democracy and our teachers are the ones who are providing that foundation for their students, and they are giving so much of themselves to this community and our students for that reason, so that there’s a better future for every child that comes through our doors,” he said. “That’s beyond just Franklin Pierce, but that’s certainly what our teachers are doing. And it is hard, and they’re pouring their hearts into it. It’s our teachers, it’s our classified staff, it’s our drivers, it’s our administrators across the board. They’re going to continue to do that, but it’s not getting any easier.”
This story was originally published June 9, 2026 at 5:00 AM.
