Olympia School District

Budget work session and public forums set

Article updated on April 11, 2023

 

The Olympia School Board had scheduled two more community forums on Monday, April 10 to discuss and receive community feedback about a list of possible 2023-24 districtwide budget reductions.

 

The board has also scheduled a work session on Tuesday, April 11 to continue to discuss possible budget reductions. 

The April 11 board work session will be held from 6-8 p.m. on Zoom, as well as in person at the Knox 111 Administrative Center, 111 Bethel St. N.E., Olympia, WA. This work session follows one held about the budget on March 30.

•  View the Zoom recording of the March 30 work session.

The board held the first of three community budget forums on March 28.

•  View the March 28 Community Forum recording.

 

Directors will host two more online community forums to receive public comment about budget reduction options. There will be no sign up for oral testimonies during the online community forums. Rather, attendees may join the forum and submit written questions or comments to the board during the Q&A portion.

 

The Knox 111 Administrative Center will be open at 2:50 p.m. for the 3 p.m. forum and at 5:50 p.m. for the 6 p.m. forum for anyone who may not have access to Zoom and would like to watch the livestream in the boardroom. The Administrative Center is located at 111 Bethel St. N.E., Olympia, WA 98506.

 

Those unable to attend the virtual forums may email questions or comments to [email protected]. 

Following are the Zoom links for the April 10 online community forums -- one from 3-5 p.m., and another from 6-8 p.m. The Zoom information is also posted on the school district website and in BoardDocs.

 

• View the April 10 3-5 p.m. Community Forum recording
  Opening Opening
• View the April 10 6-8 p.m. Community Forum recording

 

The list of budget reduction options shared during the March 23, 2023 regular board meeting and updated on March 28, 2023 is posted on the district Budget Development webpage.

 

The board also held a first reading during this meeting of Resolution 647: Necessity for and the extent of a Certified staff reduction for the 2023-2024 school year. The Budget webpage also features 2023-24 budget survey narrative responses and other financial information.

During the March 30 board work session, the school board learned that based on the most current information from the Legislature, the Olympia School District is projected to have a maximum $11.5 million funding shortfall next year. The deficit could be as low as $9 million to $10.3 million depending on Legislative negotiations. This is an early estimate; a more refined estimate will be available in mid-April 2023.

The shortfall is caused, in part, by long-term structural inequitable funding mechanisms (Regionalization, Staff Mix, low state salary allocations) and underfunded state or federal requirements (Special Education, Health Care, K-3 class size). The shortfalls are exacerbated by enrollment declines driven by the pandemic and the cessation of federal relief funding (ESSER).

Budget planning timeline and next steps

 

• Tuesday, March 28: School board hosts online community forum from 6-8 p.m. to receive public comments about budget reduction options for the 2023-24 school year. View the March 28 Community Forum Recording
• Thursday, March 30: School board holds work session from 6-8 p.m. to discuss possible 2023-24 districtwide budget reduction options. While the board will not hear public comment at this work session, there will be an opportunity for attendees online and in-person to provide written feedback for the board to review. View the March 30, 2023 Work Session recording
• Monday, April 10: School board hosts two online community forums — one from 3-5 p.m. and another from 6-8 p.m. — to receive public comments about budget reduction options.
  
  • View the April 10 3-5 p.m. Community Forum recording 
  • View the April 10 6-8 p.m. Community Forum recording
• Tuesday, April 11: School board holds work session from 6-8 p.m. to continue discussion of 2023-24 districtwide budget reduction options.
• Thursday, April 13: The board is scheduled to hold a second reading of the Reduced Education Plan. The list of budget reduction options presented at this meeting will be refined from the list presented to the board on March 23 to reflect the most current projected budget shortfall.
• April 13 - May 15: In the event a reduction in force is necessary, affected OSD staff will be notified.
• May 15 - June 22: If the revenue outlook improves before the 2023-24 budget is approved by the school board on June 22, 2023, adjustments may be made to reductions approved on April 13, 2023.