Due to the national economic recession, the state of Washington faced a $9 billion deficit in developing its biennial budget for 2009-2011. Approximately $1.4 billion in cuts were made to K-12 education—the state’s constitutional paramount duty.
Given the decisions of elected officials in Olympia, Vancouver Public Schools had to address a $7 million dollar shortfall for 2009-10. The state’s final budget cut $7 million from our district’s I-728 revenue. That impacted 93 teaching positions.
The budget adopted by the Vancouver School Board in August retained all but 40 of those positions. Position eliminations were achieved through retirements and by allowing one-year temporary contracts to expire.
How did the district retain the 53 teaching positions?
A shared sacrifice approach prevented the loss of those teaching positions and a proportionate increase in average class sizes. The district reduced administrative and support services positions by $1.5 million, implemented $1 million of belt tightening and efficiency solutions (e.g., travel, utilities, and reduced non-employee related costs), and captured $1 million in other savings achieved during the 2008-09 school year.
Specifically, how were those other cost savings achieved?
In December 2008, forecasting a difficult budget cycle, the superintendent announced several austerity measures, which included travel restrictions, a hiring freeze, and a non-employee related costs (NERC) rollback. The purpose of those measures was to save resources to help offset the anticipated budget shortfall for 2009-10.
How much was the district able to save last year? Last spring, Vancouver Public Schools projected a $2 million improvement in its ending fund balance. The actual improvement was slightly below $2.3 million.
What is the district’s plan for those resources? Those resources are being spent on classroom instruction—teaching positions. Approximately $1 million was used to hire back 14 teaching positions that the state eliminated by cutting I-728 support for 2009-10. The other $1 million in savings was put into a designated reserve account to retain those 14 teaching positions in 2010-11. To lessen the impact of state budget cuts, the district is spending down its ending fund balance by $1 million this year and plans to spend down its ending fund balance by another $1 million in 2010-11.
Last spring, at the May 5 board meeting, the superintendent made the following statement in presenting a final set of recommendations for the board to consider:
“This is a learner centered set of solutions. It ensures adequate staffing to provide a high-quality instructional program that supports improved student achievement. As a result of the lost teacher positions, class size will increase, on average, by approximately 1.5 students.”
What is the actual impact on average class sizes? Accounting for specialized programs that might inflate or deflate actual averages artificially, the district’s October 1 class size average counts are well below the targets established.
Grade Band
K-3
4-5
6-8
9-12
June 2009
20.53
23.85
25.44
26.33
October 2009
21.83
25.86
25.64
28.01
Vancouver Education Association (VEA) Contract Target Lid
24
27
28
30
Some economists have stated that the worst of the recession is over. However, certain indicators—unemployment and job growth, consumer spending, and tax revenues—are expected to lag for 12 to 18 months or more. The state’s Office of Financial Management recently forecast a $1.5 billion to $2 billion revenue shortfall for the second year of the biennium.
How might the projected shortfall impact Vancouver Public Schools?
If the legislature continues to address budget shortfalls without new revenue and applies a proportional reduction to K-12 education from 2009-10 to 2010-11, the potential impact on Vancouver Public Schools would be a $1.2 million shortfall next year.
Posted 10/20/09
Budget Planning Process/Timeline
To be announced at a later time
Contact for More Information
Questions about the budget facts may be directed to the:
Communications Office
Tom Hagley, executive director of community and government relations, 313-1236, tom.hagley@vansd.org.
