Spokane school districts share pain of state budget

School districts throughout the state will be forced to spend less this year as a result of a poor economy and state budget cuts.

A statewide $90 million reduction in K-12 education will translate into big budget shortfalls for some districts - as much as $5 million for Spokane School District 81.

Coupled with the district's enrollment decline and the increase in utility costs, Spokane is bracing for total budget cuts of about $8 million.

"K-12 is sharing the pain of the state's economy," said Spokane Superintendent Brian Benzel.

Benzel, who oversees a district of nearly 32,000 students, won't make any decisions yet about what pro- grams to cut or how to make up for the loss.

He'll wait until May, after receiving community and staff input, before putting together a $260 million plan that will eventually need school board approval. Meanwhile, the district will host six public meetings to give people a chance to voice their opinions.

"Our academic program is the reason we're in business," Benzel said. "We'll do everything we can to protect that."

Other districts face the same problem. The Mead School District, which has about 8,000 students, expects to come up about $700,000 short. The Central Valley School District, the second-largest in Spokane County with about 10,700 students, anticipates a budget deficit of at least $1 million this fall.

Smaller school districts may also have to dip into their savings to make ends meet.

"It's going to get worse before it gets better," said Reardan- Edwall Superintendent Rob Clark. "Even after this year, I don't expect the state's budget situation to get better."

Fallout from state budget cuts approved by the Legislature last week has already forced school districts to tighten their belts and examine where else they can save money.

Teachers will get their annual 3.6 percent cost-of-living allowance, as mandated by voter-approved Initiative 728, but they'll have to pay more of their health-care costs.

Educators also will lose one of three paid planning days. The decision to eliminate funding for one Learning Improvement Day has been described by the Washington Education Association, the state's largest teachers union, as a "back-door raid on the cost of living adjustment."

Administrators say losing the planning day will affect teachers' efforts at collaborating to improve learning in the classroom. "It's going to hurt us on the road to reform," Clark said.

If District 81 wants to keep the planning day, it will have to come up with $500,000 of its own money.

Among cuts, the District 81 is losing $1.5 million because the state recalculated the formula to determine how much money per student districts get from the state.

That amount depends not just on the number of students, but also on a district's average teacher salary. That average has decreased in some districts, including Spokane, because the formula now includes generally less-experienced teachers paid with federal and local money.

Jan Hutton, CV's director of business operations, estimates the change could cost Central Valley about $162,000.

"It drives the average down so the state sends us less money," she said. "That one's a big hit."

Legislators also reduced the state's "better schools" fund that helps reduce classroom size. Mead will lose money that would have paid for four additional teachers. Central Valley will be short $340,000 next fall, which would have been enough to hire five teachers. District 81 will lose nearly $1 million that would have funded 12 instructors.

Administrators from area school districts aren't sure yet what programs will be affected by the state budget cuts.

"There's more than one way to address a budget," said Al Swanson, Mead's assistant superintendent for finance. "In some cases, we can offset it, but in other cases, we have to rearrange the way we spend the money."

Although Benzel wouldn't specify any District 81 cuts, potential changes could include larger class sizes in some schools. Staff layoffs and cuts in after-school programs that aren't related to the curriculum also are possible.

The budget woes are aggravated by District 81's enrollment decline. In 1998-99, the district had 32,621 students. Since then, enrollment has dropped slightly each year. For the 2002-2003 school year, officials estimate enrollment will fall to 31,273 - which translates into a loss of $1.2 million in state dollars.

Benzel and other Spokane school administrators are now establishing standards to address the community's recommendations. Some of those standards include fairness and affordability, as well as the legal and ethical implications of these potential changes.

"We want to talk to the community to find $8 million worth of solutions," Benzel said.

This sidebar appeared with the story:

COMMUNITY FORUMS

Spokane School District 81 will host community forums next month to get public input about the school district's $260 million budget.

The meetings will start at 7 p.m. and last about 1-1/2 hours.

April 9, Sacajawea Middle School

April 11, Salk Middle School

April 23, Chase Middle School

April 25, Shaw Middle School

April 30, Glover Middle School

May 2, Garry Middle School

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