The Orcas Island School District Board, at a special School Board meeting, reduced certificated teaching and administrative personnel by the equivalent of 7.77 full-time positions on Wednesday, April 30. Their action was deemed necessary in an effort to deal with reduced revenue projections for the 08-09 school year, and with legal obligations.

In public schools full- and part-time jobs are referred to as full time equivalents (FTEs). A full-time job is a 1.0 FTE; a half-time position is a 0.5 FTE.

Orcas Island School District Superintendent Glenn Harris proposed to the Board a plan to reduce FTEs by 7.07. This included certificated FTE reductions of .20 from administration (in this case principals), 4.8 from the elementary school (including a 1.0 resignation), 0.26 from the middle school, and 1.8 from the high school. In a surprise move, the Board decided to add to that 0.7 more from certificated administration.

The staff reductions that the Board approved at the meeting are the following: 0.9 FTE administrators (principals at the elementary and middle and high schools; 4.8 FTE elementary teachers (classroom teachers, including one teacher who was already planning on resigning), .27 FTE from the middle school (reductions in physical education and music), and 2.2 FTE from the high school (reductions in mathematics, Spanish, social studies, music, vocational education, and physical education programs).

The School Board needed to approve cuts to the budget by May 1, as state law requires that districts notify teachers of positions or cuts by May 15. After that date, all teacher contracts must be honored, regardless of class size.

School Board Vice President Scott Lancaster (sitting in for vacationing President Janet Brownell who participated by speaker phone) explained that reducing the budget will be a multi-phase project. It is possible that an unanticipated increase in enrollment would also increase district funding from state and federal sources, and that teachers could be re-instate. After May 15, however, under no circumstances can the District reduce its number of certificated teachers or administrators because of contractual obligations.

The next phases of building the budget will involve reducing expenditures other than certificated positions or finding more revenue. The District has until July 17 to submit its budget to the state. Up until that date, it can subtract anything from the budget (as long as legal obligations are met) except personnel, as described above.

Lancaster commented later, “The talk that we’ve reduced it to a one-principal school is simply not true. If we didn’t RIF administration (principals) at the meeting, then we wouldn’t be able to discuss any configuration of principals on the table.

“The resolution reduced the principal positions by .7 – we didn’t put any specifics on that.”

Harris and his administration team drew up five plans for dealing with the financial shortfalls created by declining enrollment and the unfunded salary increases mandated by the state. At the meeting the plans were briefly described, but not debated. Board member Keith Whitaker was hoping to discuss the administration team’s five expenditure reduction plans. Harris, though, strongly urged Board members to consider the options later, saying that certificated personnel reductions needed to be made at the meeting, and that certificated personnel should be reduced as much as possible to give the Board needed flexibility in dealing with the budget. “They can be hired back later if we find the money,” he said.

The meeting was well attended by those wanting to know more and those wanting to express their opinions about the impending cuts.

Several people suggested that if cuts were needed, they should be spread throughout the district and not hit any one place harder than another. “Go across the board,” said teacher and coach Dennis Dahl. “Don’t take it all from music or transportation or athletics,” he added.

Some people asked whether some cuts could come from the District office. Harris replied that he felt the District office personnel were already overworked. “The reality is that the business office is way under-manned. … They’re here for everybody. They’re not here just for me,” he said. Besides the full-time superintendent, the District office personnel include a business manager, who is contracted to work 1.5 days per week and frequently works more than that, and 2.75 FTE who handle human resources, accounts payable and receivable, payroll, and administrative support.

Kindergarten teacher Pam Jenkins replied, “We’re still expected to do our jobs. Our classes are getting larger, and the kids suffer.”

Several parents and students spoke up in support of sports and how the sports programs help keep some students in school and therefore should not be cut. It was also suggested that the ALE program could be reduced.

Board member Tony Ghazel remarked that most of the discussion centered on reducing expenditures. “We haven’t looked at the revenue side,” he said. There may be ways to increase revenue such as raising fees for participating in athletics or raising rental fees, he pointed out.

Kindergarten teacher Pam Jenkins replied, “We’re still expected to do our jobs. Our classes are getting larger, and the kids suffer.”

Several parents and students spoke up in support of sports and how the sports programs help keep some students in school and therefore should not be cut. It was also suggested that the ALE program could be reduced.

Board member Tony Ghazel remarked that most of the discussion centered on reducing expenditures. “We haven’t looked at the revenue side,” he said. There may be ways to increase revenue such as raising fees for participating in athletics or raising rental fees, he pointed out.

Asked if budget information would be made available to the public, Harris replied that a downloadable Excel file would be made available on the school’s website, www.orcasislandschools.org.