Olympia School District 2012-2013 Budget
On Monday, May 14th the school board was presented with a draft of the proposed 2012-13 operating budget. Several months ago we started the budget process by turning to the staff and community for ideas and input on ways the district could save funds in the midst of what looked like a very significant budget shortfall. At the close of the legislative session early last month, that picture began to improve when the state did not make any additional cuts to education leaving our district with what looked like an $800,000 budget shortfall at that time. The task of filling the budget gap was recently made easier thanks to increased enrollment projections, a reduction in printing expenditures and a realized savings from the fact that we do not have any upcoming elections to pay for during the 2012-13 school year. With these revenue updates our district is now left with a deficit of just $490,000.
Unfortunately deficits, either big or small, are challenges that are never easy to solve; however, thanks to community and staff input the process of determining our reductions was a team effort and helped in determining our priorities. In feedback from staff, administrators and the community, retaining our district employees and sacrificing supplies was a very high priority. With that in mind the following are the proposed adjustments to next year’s budget in order for us to fill our deficit:
- Reduce building supply allocations by 15% and delay the purchase of high school text books, saving the district $186,000;
- Eliminate the budget for the district-option professional visitation fund; which schools have traditionally used as a professional development opportunity for both certificated and classified staff. This item reduces the deficit by $34,000;
- Replace two retiring Registered School Nurses, with Licensed Practical Nurses (LPN) for a savings of $13,000;
- Eliminate the Teacher Librarian stipend associated with conducting final close-out activities for 5 days after school lets out for a savings of $32,000;
- Change school bell schedules in order to stager start times to save $160,000 in expenses associated with transportation services. (Of the three options presented to the staff and community, this option has least impact on transportation staffing and on the disruption to instruction and daily routines.); and
- Lastly, reduce staffing by a combined 1.5 FTE at two elementary schools for a savings of $103,000.
As part of the budget process, we also asked staff and the community about areas in which dollars should be added in order to help improve and/or strengthen any programs and services. One area that was consistently brought up in surveys was staffing, so we are recommending the addition of $100,000 to the staffing contingency plan. This brings the total staffing contingency budget to $400,000, which will allow us to hire up to 5.6 FTE staff if student enrollment comes in higher than projected and will justify the addition. These additional funds could prove to be critical as our projected enrollment change for the upcoming year assumes only a very minor reduction in students and if numbers come in higher than expected we will have the ability to hire additional staff in order to help reduce class sizes. Our second and last recommended addition to the budget is the waiver of full-day kindergarten tuition for families that are eligible for Free or Reduced-Price Lunch. Waiving this tuition will cost $60,000, but will provide enhanced early learning opportunities for more students and families in our district.
After this draft budget is presented to the school board tonight, two Community Forums will be held next Tuesday, May 22 at Washington Middle School and Thursday, May 24 at Marshall Middle School. Both of these forums will begin at 6:30 p.m. and will provide an opportunity for the public to provide input on the draft budget. Following the forums, a board study session on the budget will be held on Monday, June 4 at 6:30 p.m. at the Knox Administrative Center. The budget will then be formally put in front of the board for first reading at the Monday, June 11 board meeting and the second reading and approval of the budget will take place at the Tuesday, June 26th board meeting. Both board meetings will be held at the Knox Administrative Center and will begin at 6:30 p.m.
While the budget process is always challenging, this year was definitely made easier due in part to the valuable input from staff and community. We are very grateful for the time, energy and creativity that the staff and community invested into this process. The council provided throughout this process played a very important role in the decision making that took place. We are fortunate to have a district comprised of so many talented and caring professionals and we are thankful to have an engaged and passionate community.
2011-12 Budget Information
In preparing the 2011-12 school year budget, Olympia School District faced a $5.8 million reduction in state revenue and federal grant funding. The School Board crafted a budget that protects classroom expenditures and key operational functions of the District, but still many programmatic reductions needed to be implemented. The OSD will benefit this year from the ability to spend down its reserve, built by several years of strict budgeting by schools and staff.
- 2011-12 Final Budget Detail
- 2011-12 Final Expenditure and Revenue Budget Summary
For questions regarding the OSD budget, please contact Ryan Betz, Director of Communications.