Kelso reconsiders cutting elementary principal amid budget woes
Following community feedback, Kelso School District Superintendent Mary Beth Tack recommended against cutting the principal at Carrolls Elementary School.
The cut was part of a proposed $2.4 million budget reduction the Kelso School Board reviewed at its April 20 meeting. However, many community members urged against it, Tack said at a May 4 board meeting.
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Her other recommendations, also based on community feedback, include maintaining Kelso High School's technology stipend and maintaining in-school suspension at both middle schools. The changes would bring the total reductions down to $2.2 million.
The board is scheduled to vote on an updated reduction proposal Monday. Final budget adoption is scheduled for Aug. 10.
Library
Upgrades to the Carrolls Elementary School library in 2020 included new windows, carpeting, paint and shelving. The Kelso School District is now reconsidering eliminating the school's principal amid budget cuts.
Community concerns
Community members had the opportunity to give feedback on the budget proposal at two listening sessions on April 29, by emailing the district or by scheduling a meeting with Tack.
The district received 99 total responses across the different formats. Nearly half of all the concerns people expressed were related to the Carrolls Elementary principal, Tack said.
The original proposal suggested cutting the head principal position and having assistant principals from the district's other five elementary schools fill the role on a rotating basis. The change would save the district about $200,000, Chief Financial and Operations Officer Scott Westlund said at the April 20 meeting.
Community members said it would create instability for students and make it difficult to set consistent expectations, Tack said. Some also worried about the impact of pulling assistant principals from the other schools.
Another area of concern was student safety, especially regarding the proposal to eliminate in-school suspension at both middle schools.
Tack recommended keeping in-school suspension and eliminating middle school library clerk positions instead to offset the cost.
Alternate options
The board discussed whether the district should find other reductions to replace the $215,000 that would have come from eliminating the Carrolls Elementary principal and Kelso High School technology stipend, but ultimately recommended that it absorb the cost using savings from its end fund balance.
The amount of reductions necessary, especially when combined with existing reductions from the past two school years, mean the district would very likely have to eliminate staff, Westlund said.
"They're going to have people's names attached to them," he said.
Board member Francisco Uribe asked whether the district would consider merging schools together as another potential cost-saving measure.
Carrolls is the smallest elementary school in the district, with 110 students at the beginning of the current school year, and its enrollment is currently declining. The nearby Rose Valley Elementary School is the second smallest, with 205 students.
Westlund said that could be an option in the future, but planning a merger and ensuring community members had the opportunity to give feedback would not be feasible in the few months before the board is required to approve a budget for the upcoming school year.
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