Sports fees among options at Tumwater schools

Education: Public draft of district budget to be released next week

VENICE BUHAIN; The Olympian | • Published July 02, 2009

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TUMWATER – Tumwater School District athletes might have to pay sports fees for the first time as district officials grapple with a $1.7 million budget shortfall in the 2009-10 school year.

Proposed Tumwater school cuts

Six largest proposed program and service reductions

• Eliminating extended learning allocations at schools that are funded by Initiative 728, $90,000

• Instituting participation fees for $30 per sport in middle school and $60 per sport in high school, $75,000

• Reducing summer school programs paid for through Initiative 728, $52,000

• Discontinuing contracted media services with Educational Service District 113, $44,000

• Discontinuing the sixth-grade overnight trip to the Cispus Learning Center, $30,000

• Reducing stipends for duties such as volunteer coordinator and technical support, $30,000

Proposed Tumwater staffing adjustments

• Reduction in administrators, certificated (teaching certificates) and classified staff, $1 million

• Reduction in staff members who assisted with health and social services for students, $140,000

• Reduction of employees who assist in all-day kindergarten classes, $77,000

The proposed participation fees of $30 per sport in middle school and $60 per sport in high school are expected to raise $75,000 next year, according to a list of proposed district reductions.

The Tumwater school board and administrators have in previous years resisted instituting sports fees, which would be lower than those in Olympia and North Thurston, said Allen Jones, director of financial resources and special services.

“Sports fees have been talked about before, but we never wanted to do it unless we were desperate,” he said.

Tumwater faces the same shortfalls as most Washington public school districts after the state cut funds for schools to help deal with its own $9 billion shortfall from its 2009-11 two-year budget.

Other cuts to the district next year include driver-education classes in the high schools, the sixth-grade trip to the Cispus Learning Center in Randle and possible layoffs of about six teachers.

The Tumwater district also is cutting back staffing and hours in other departments, said assistant superintendent of human resources Bob Kuehl.

In May, the district issued layoff notices to 30 people with teaching certificates – a group that includes teachers and administrators. Not everyone who received a notice would have been laid off; the district planned to lay off 13 to 15 people, Kuehl said. As a result of retirements and resignations, about 24 of the people who received notice can stay at Tumwater, Kuehl said.

District officials expect to receive about $60 million in revenue in 2009-10 for the district’s general fund, which means they must cut about 2 percent to have a balanced budget, Jones said.

Money from the federal stimulus package will help prevent cuts to special education and programs for schools with a high percentage of low-income families, Jones said. The stimulus package also will assist the district in starting new programs for those student classifications, he said.

The district plans to release a draft budget to the public July 10.

The public hearing the adoption of the budget is scheduled for Aug. 27.

Venice Buhain: 360-754-5445

vbuhain@theolympian.com

www.theolympian.com/edblog