Olympia schools deficit could fall to $13.9 million, but only with layoffs, update shows
.jpg "Knox Building, the Olympia School District main office.")
A recent budget projection for the Olympia School District shows the district could lower its deficit to $13.9 million, but it comes at a price, school officials say.
To meet a reduction of more than $3 million in expenditures, assistant superintendent Jennifer Priddy said during Thursday’s school board meeting that the plan right now is to move forward with 13 fewer elementary classrooms, or 13 full-time teachers. The district will get rid of two elementary Art, Music and PE program teachers as well.
Paraeducator positions have been adjusted to match enrollment numbers, too, but it’s unclear how many employees will be affected.
There likely will be updates to the number of layoffs expected and just how much money the district has to make up. The board of directors decided during the March 9 meeting to have Superintendent Patrick Murphy draft a Reduced Educational Plan, which will be read March 23 and April 13 at regular board meetings. It’s expected to be implemented in May.
The public speaks out
The OSD board of directors recently met in a work session to talk about the idea of elementary school consolidation. Priddy shared a presentation that showed there are several schools in the district with fewer than 300 students. Superintendent Murphy said it’s expensive to fund and maintain these small schools.
In response, several parents spoke out during the Thursday meeting about the idea of Boston Harbor’s doors closing or being combined with another school.
Meghan Vu has two children at Boston Harbor, and she was joined by a friend’s kid at the school board meeting. Kaiolohia said her family moved to the area five years ago because they had heard from folks that Boston Harbor was a great elementary school with a great community.
“I love my school because it’s a small school where everybody takes care of each other, and all the teachers and staff know all their kids’ names,” she said.
She told the board she knows it doesn’t help them save money, but she imagines there are a lot of other kids in Olympia who feel the same way about their school. She said she thinks a lot of families move to Olympia because of its amazing schools.
Jeff Salazar said Boston Harbor Elementary is a foundation in the community. He said it’s admittedly rural, but despite the numbers Priddy has shown, he said enrollment is growing. He said the school is a flagship of performance, inclusion and engagement with the community.
Murphy and Priddy said they want to make sure the public knows they’re looking at all options and that closing schools and laying teachers off is never what they want to do. A hiring freeze has been enacted and open positions weren’t included in the deficit projection. Priddy said $13.9 million is now the worst-case scenario.
Priddy said the district has been applying for more state funding and grants, but it’s unclear whether they’ll receive any money in a timely manner. There was also a bill in the works that would have allowed school districts to sell land they own and put that money toward their budget, but Priddy said it failed. And it wouldn’t have benefited OSD; only land that can’t be developed for a school could have been sold, and all of OSD’s land can be used.
Priddy said the district always looks for teacher and paraeducator retirements and resignations before thinking about layoffs. She said every year there’s anywhere between 30 and 60 teacher and paraeducator retirements and resignations. Right now, it’s not looking like willing departees are going to cut it. A reduction in force is necessary, Priddy said.
The next board meeting and discussion on the budget deficit is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. March 23. Residents can attend online or in person at the Knox Administrative Center at 111 Bethel St. NE.
This story was originally published March 11, 2023 at 5:00 AM.
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