OAK HARBOR: District discusses funding challenges with lawmakers

Luisa Loi reports from the Oak Harbor School District for the Whidbey News-Times.

Like many school districts around the state that are still reeling from the pandemic, Oak Harbor is struggling to keep up with the cost of supporting its students with disabilities, paying the bills and transporting students.

Thursday afternoon, Sen. Ron Muzzall and Rep. Clyde Shavers heard the district leaders’ concerns ahead of the upcoming legislative session, set to begin Jan. 13.

They Said It

In light of a projected budget shortfall of $10 to $12 billion, Muzzall warned of major cuts looming ahead in the state, which he said are a result of the government’s inability to responsibly spend tax money for the past two decades.

“It’s dire,” he said. However, he said, hard times are an opportunity to create solutions.

If the levy renewal fails to pass at the election in February, the schools will have a hard time paying for some of the most basic necessities, like power, water and internet, said Board Member Nikki Tesch.

Superintendent Michelle Kuss-Cybula pointed out that, despite the lack of resources, school districts are legally responsible for providing services to students with disabilities. In a recent example, the district was financially responsible for a student with needs so exceptionally high that no place in the state of Washington, not even Seattle Children’s Hospital, could help him.

As a result, the district had to pay to get out-of-state assistance.

Muzzall said the legislature needs to reevaluate how it’s funding special education. Shavers said increasing the [Special Education State Funding Cap, which currently is set at 16% — which is the maximum percentage of students in a district that the state is willing to fund for special education]is an ongoing effort in the legislature, and he is looking into ways that local health care facilities can support school districts.

Kuss-Cybula said the [McKinney-Vento Act, which establishes that homeless students have the right to continue attending the school they attended while they were permanently housed,] doesn’t always make sense. She recalled a student who left the area after being enrolled in the district for two days. To this day, the district continues to pay for this student’s commute to Oak Harbor.

Kuss-Cybula requested scaling back some unfunded mandates that are placing an unnecessary burden on already-struggling districts, as well as the elimination of the 60% supermajority rule for bond measures.

Despite his concerns for the future, Muzzall said education was always a priority during past recessions and believes it will once again be treated as such.

A proud Wildcat grad, he added that Oak Harbor schools worry him the least in District 10, as “they always get it done.”