In thinking about and reporting on the school budget situation, we’ve gone into the records from last year, and those from the Sounder archives two, three and four years back. And we’re struck by the progress that has been made.

The school community and the community at large should feel proud when we look back on what they’ve accomplished.

After two years without a fulltime superintendent, or a fully accountable business office, the board hired fulltime Superintendent Glenn Harris in 2006. After dire warnings from the Educational Service District Superintendent Jerry Jenkins, and with the overtime labors of Business Manager Ben Thomas, the district’s books went from no entries and double entries and a projected $355,000 deficit to a positive fund balance at the end of the ‘06-’07 budget year.

With the District’s Board attending three extra budget formulation workshops, and then offering similar workshops to the public last year, and with the contributions of the Orcas Island Education Foundation who raised over $275,000 from a generous community, the school was “saved” with minimal teaching cuts last year.

Basically, the board, the superintendent, the business manager, and school administrators rebuilt the foundation for the ‘06-’07 budget at the same time they were constructing the ‘07-’08 budget last year. They’ve increased enrollment through an all-day kindergarten program and through OASIS alternative high school.

And the Budget Advisory Committee was formed from involved community people who thought they could be of some help to the school and to the Business Manager.

Now the budget for the ‘08-’09 school year is being finalized. Volunteers on the Budget Advisory Committee worked with the same players as last year to check, inspect and measure the school’s finances. With detailed records provided by Ben Thomas, they have given their time and expertise to see where fiscal maintenance is needed, where austerity measures should prevail, and where teachers – the frontline in education – can be retained.

The achievements of the BAC are, in great part, a compliment to Thomas’ accountability. They recognize that weeding through 29 pages of miniscule documentation provided by Thomas is a task they are able to shoulder – after all, it’s their kids, their community, their future that’s at stake.

They won’t be the ones making the final decisions about cuts to school programs, facilities, services and staff, which makes their work all the more impressive. Those heavy decisions will be made by the School District Board.

The BAC has constructed a tool to bring budget stability to a District that struggles to provide quality education on a state-raided Basic Education Budget. They have shown their willingness to work with Thomas to consider the feasibility of their budget trimming. More cuts are to be considered these next six weeks; some of them were outlined in Board Member Keith Whitaker’s presentation last week.

The board next meets on Thursday, June 26 at 5 p.m. If you want to see angels of diligence at work stewarding the future of Orcas Island public education, it should be illuminating and educational.