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Edmonds School District

Budget Update

Budget Update - May 8, 2019

Posted on 05/08/2019

We want to provide you with updates regarding the current state of the budget deficit in the district. We are facing a projected budget deficit of $17.7 million for the 2019-20 school year.  

 

There are multiple factors that are contributing to the budget shortfall:

 

  1. A reduction in the levy over the calendar year 2018.

  2. A reduction in K-3 funding unless the district reduces K-3 class sizes which require additional staffing costs.

  3. Increases to employer costs for the School Employees Benefits Board.

  4. Salary increases for all employee groups.

  5. The basic education funding model does not cover the additional staff and other program costs that are funded by the levy or other state and federal programs.

  6. The Salary Allocation Model no longer takes into consideration the education and experience levels of staff and provides funding at one average rate. The district’s staff is more experienced than the average.

  7. We used nearly $3.9M of the 2017-18 fund balance (savings account) to prevent other reductions during that school year. This results in a fund balance below 4%. We cannot continue to draw down our fund balance and remain fiscally sound as a district.  

  8. Even with the new revenue in programs like Special Education, we continue to fund our Special Education budget over the amount allocated by the state and federal government. We anticipate this gap to be in excess of $5 million.

 

In order to be to address the $17.7 million deficit, we have identified the following as potential reductions:

 

  1. Staff reductions including certificated teaching, classified staff, and certificated administrators, and leaving vacant positions unfilled

  2. Specific program reductions

  3. Reductions in non-staff costs such as materials, supplies and operating costs

 

We recognize that processing reductions of this magnitude are a challenging process. We work in a profession that values relationships with one another and this makes the decisions that are ahead all the more difficult. We value everyone in our district. We also anticipate that there will be more retirements and resignations that will come in weeks ahead, so the number of staff who will ultimately be impacted by these reductions are not known.

 

Decisions regarding the Reduced Educational Plan for 2019-2020 will be made at the School Board Meeting on May 14, with a Special Meeting, tomorrow, May 8 for a First Reading.