COUPEVILLE: School budget cuts approved in 4-1 vote (WNT)

Luisa Loi reports for the Whidbey News-Times from the Coupeville School District board meeting of July 27, 2023.

Despite strong objections from some members of the community, painful reductions to the Coupeville School District 2023-24 budget will move forward.

The cuts include the elimination of Dean Tom Black’s position, two paraeducators funded by pandemic-era grants, a paraeducator by attrition, and Jessica Caselden’s athletic trainer position, as well as the reduction of paraeducator hours by 30 minutes….

During a meeting on July 27, the Coupeville School Board approved the budget in a 4-1 vote, authorizing the district to spend up to $18.4 million from the general fund and about $3 million from the capital projects fund for voter-approved projects in the 2023-24 school year, according to Board Member Alison Perera.

They Said It

In an email, Superintendent Steve King said that the total reductions will be adjusted in the next couple of weeks after a meeting with the leadership team at the end of next week. The budget cuts were last updated on June 21, amounting to about $1.27 million, according to the district’s website.

Board Member Sherry Phay voted no…. “I will not vote for a budget that reflects a priority for its food program over the support means as they relate to teaching and learning,” she said.

During the meeting, King said most districts in the state have been forced to make budget reductions and have been dealing with inadequate funding from the state. He said he expects there will be a decade of financial challenges post-COVID-19 for many districts.

“If anything, we should be adding staff and rewarding staff, providing more support for students,” he said during the meeting.

Board members Nancy Conard and Morgan White said approving the budget cuts was a necessary but painful decision, as they needed to adopt the budget by Aug. 1. However, they believe there is more work to be done.

“This isn’t the end of our conversation,” White said. “We’re not losing sight of the priorities.”

King wrote in an email that the decision to reduce the paraeducators’ hours makes the district consistent with most school districts, and it won’t cause any disruptions to student services while helping the school retain staff and reducing expenses.

“Students are only here for six hours per day and paraeducators have been on a seven-hour-per-day contract,” he wrote.

According to King, the majority of school districts have paraeducators working 6.5 hours or less, and there is no need for them to work beyond the school day hours.

In his email to the community, King said that despite staff reductions, all in-district students in special programs will continue to be fully served, except for preschoolers with special needs, whose day will be reduced by 15 minutes.

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On the Ballot in 2023