Schools hunker down for budget storm

One thing was very obvious to the people attending the La Conner School District budget workshops — the school staff has been working very hard to find places the district can cut costs.

Monday’s was the fourth in the seven-workshop series and like the others was attended mostly by school employees and a few taxpayers with no school ties.

School Superintendent Tim Bruce told the group that nearly 80 percent of the school budget goes toward teacher and staff pay. “Think about keeping a quality teacher in every classroom,” he said.

Should the proposed school property tax levy of nearly $1 million pass when the ballots are counted next Tuesday, the school board will still have to find savings to balance the budget. Should it fail, it will have to make bigger cuts.

In February, voters rejected a pair of two-year levies that would have collected close to $1.5 million in school taxes on the local property tax bills.

And the property tax is what is driving the high interest in the school budget — the majority of voters in the district and about two-thirds of the district’s students live on land that is exempt from school taxes. At least 53 percent of the registered voters will be deciding on taxes that will be imposed on their neighbors, not themselves.

For this levy request, there is an unprecedented “Yes” campaign, with dozens of yard signs and banners, door hangers, voter registration drives and advertising. That was never necessary in this community, where school levies have always passed in a landslide.

But a federal court’s so-called Great Wolf Lodge decision changed everything when it inspired Skagit County to take 931 parcels off the county tax rolls and shift the tax burden to around 1,200 remaining taxpayers on about 2,500 parcels, which include many acres of farmland.

The newly exempt parcels include most of the homes in Shelter Bay, a gated community developed on leased land that is held in trust by the government for the Swinomish Indian Tribal Community. The land has never been taxed — only the structures owned by non-tribal members were subject to county property tax.

On Monday, it was clear that the school district is preparing to survive in a shrunken funding environment.

District Business Manager Bonnie Haley said projections for the upcoming 2016-2017 school year indicate there will be fewer dollars coming to the district from state and federal sources.

Some savings will be realized with staff retirements, she said. At the start of Monday’s session, she said another $380,000 in cuts would still be necessary, even if voters approve the proposed levy.

Here are some ideas for cuts that came from staff members:

Peg Seeling, who will take over as interim superintendent in July after Bruce leaves, said she would trim about $40,000 off the athletics budget by cutting high-cost sports with few participants. For example, according to information shared by the district on Monday, this year’s wrestling program had four participants and two coaches. A beginning high school coach salary for a 12- to 13-week program is $4,519.

Seeling also said golf, which attracted a total of nine students this year, is another that could be eliminated, as well as one of two cheerleading coaches. Also, all high school sports below junior varsity level could be cut, she said.

Bruce noted that “we have never cut a student from a sports activity.” Eliminating “C” sports teams would mean that kids who don’t make the JV or varsity team can’t play.

Counselor Lori Buher had some suggestions, which she said she hates to even consider. One is sending high achievers — like the two kids interested in taking advanced chemistry — to the Running Start program offered through Skagit Valley College.

Another was making more use of the Northwest Technical Academy, a trade program offered by a consortium of six school districts, including La Conner and the college.

Georgia Johnson, who is the district’s Food Services director as well as the culinary arts teacher, suggested that the school’s culinary program could be eliminated and her students referred to the program at the technical academy.

A question that frequently surfaces in the community is: “Why does La Conner spend more per student than the state average and more than many other district’s its size?”

Haley answered that question last week. She said the school district has always had the funding and, therefore, was able to spend more money on programs.