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Evergreen floats cuts to budget

Teachers, busing would be spared in quest to shave $2.9 million

By Howard Buck
Published: May 4, 2010, 12:00am

Evergreen Public Schools on Monday unveiled a budget hit list certain to bring a few new headaches.

But there’s nothing like the body blows landed by hefty cost reductions adopted last year, nor those expected down the road.

Classroom teachers, extracurricular programs, school busing: Not one is on the chopping block for 2010-11 as Evergreen looks to slice $2.9 million from a roughly $240 million operating budget.

The district instead would lay off 46 nonteaching assistants, slide instructional coaches to lower pay levels, shrink the central office by three more positions and pocket new energy savings to reach its goal.

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Superintendent John Deeder and budget director Mike Merlino explained short-term proposals and warned of stiffer, future challenges at the first of three planned public forums, held Monday night.

Just a handful of nonemployee guests showed for the 90-minute talk at Cascade Middle School, sign of a reduced level of alarm one year after the district imposed $9 million in cutbacks.

“It’s much better than last year,” Merlino said, outlining a preliminary savings plan. “We don’t have to go through that deep of a list” of potential cutbacks, he said.

It’s a relief, since spending cuts and employee concessions top $13.6 million for the past two years, the district said.

Next year, reduced state funding will cost Evergreen a bit more than $4 million, Merlino said.

About $3.3 million owes to elimination of voter-approved Initiative 728 money intended to reduce class size. Legislators also trimmed dollars for extra teachers in grades kindergarten through four (grade four, specifically), worth another $900,000 or so.

With an additional $3.3 million cost to hire 42 teachers for all-day, everyday kindergarten Evergreen will offer starting in September, the district budget hole nears $7.6 million.

But Olympia did offset some of the pain. New legislation bumps up property tax levy equalization payments (allocated to districts with below-average values) by two percentage points, which brings about $2 million more to Evergreen.

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There’s another $2 million coming in, from Evergreen’s current tax levy that ratchets higher each calendar year.

With a few more adjustments, this year’s budget target shouldn’t be too hard to meet.

Nonteaching assistants — who have led elementary classes for staggered periods each week while instructors prepare lesson plans — have known their days were numbered. More early-release school days on Wednesdays will provide teachers their full, labor-negotiated planning time.

District administrators and school principals will forego a pay raise, as they did last year, Merlino said.

Nonteaching classified workers are poised to receive a 1 percent pay raise, including clerical workers whose pay was frozen this year. Teacher contract talks continue, after the state dropped funding support for one professional training (in-service) day.

The new kindergarten schedule shouldn’t increase school busing costs, and any new portable classrooms needed would be covered by separate facilities funds, Merlino said.

Last month, Evergreen proposed halving elementary school librarian (media specialist) shifts, to shave costs. But that plan was dropped amid strong opposition, which included impassioned pleas from teachers and parents at last week’s school board meeting.

More pain ahead

Meanwhile, no one soft-pedals more dire budget shortfalls that loom for 2011-12.

Federal stimulus money, about $800 million for Washington schools the past two years, is due to run dry.

If the state continues to bleed money, legislators may completely drop the K-4 teacher funding and levy equalization payments, Deeder warned.

“That’s the only two places they can cut,” he said.

That could mean $15 million or $16 million less for Evergreen, right there.

“We’re nervous about (that) year, very nervous,” said Deeder, who predicted “a huge impact on the classroom, and safety and building maintenance, and everything else.”

Evergreen is the state’s fifth-largest district with more than 26,000 students.

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