The most recent statement from the Washington State School Directors' Association on school districts' budgets and collective bargaining has sparked a round of responses from the superintendents of the school districts in East Jefferson County.

WSSDA

In a letter dated Aug. 29, and sent to school boards across the state, WSSDA Executive Director Tim Garchow addressed the fallout of how the state Legislature has handled the McCleary Supreme Court decision, and he deemed “an unprecedented amount of collective bargaining” to be one of the impacts.

While Garchow expressed confidence “all parties” would engage in good-faith bargaining, out of a “shared focus on students,” he nonetheless outlined what he sees as three harsh realities of the current situation.

“First, the amount of money that districts have to bargain with is not the same,” Garchow wrote. “Second, state funding is set to increase, but local funding is set to decrease.”

And third, Garchow opined that school districts have been “working hard” to determine what they can afford.

“School districts will not receive the same amount of funding for the same amount of teachers,” Garchow wrote. “This means that one district's ability to provide a salary increase may be dramatically less than another district located right next door.”

Although all the state's school districts are meant to receive a standard amount of funding per teacher, Garchow pointed out how some districts are able to receive additional funding, based on the new formula set up by the Legislature.

“Within that formula, there are a variety of factors causing a variation in funding available to districts, but one, in particular, is something referred to as the 'regionalization factor,' which is intended to provide more funding to districts with higher housing costs,” Garchow wrote.

Because of such “regionalization,” Garchow estimated the amount of money districts receive for their respective teacher salaries can vary by up to 24 percent.

“Thus, we are seeing confusion at the local level, when some districts are able to provide larger salary increases than others,” Garchow wrote.

Garchow further estimated more than a third of Washington's school districts will lose 50 percent or more of their local levy funding.

“In many cases, districts and communities have prioritized these levy funds to provide enrichment programs for students, or to meet other objectives of their strategic plan,” Garchow wrote.

And because new state funding starts at the beginning of this school year, Garchow explained, the limitations on local funding don't occur until later.

“In many cases, that means an increase in funding now will be followed by a reduction of funding in the near future,” Garchow wrote. “This can add to the confusion around how much money districts actually have to bargain with.”

Garchow elaborated on how, to help school districts navigate changes brought about by the new legislation, as well as to “ensure sustainability,” the Legislature added a requirement for districts to create a four-year budget plan.

“For months now, districts have been working with the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction and their Educational Service Districts to determine the level of salary increase that they can afford on a long-term basis,” Garchow wrote. “This work has been difficult, complex and ongoing. Each district must continue to make a thorough examination of what they can afford, based on their own unique situation, regardless of the agreements being reached in other districts.”

In spite of these challenges, Garchow asserted that Washington's teachers, administrators and school boards want the same thing.

“We want the best possible education for our students,” Garchow wrote. “We all appreciate and respect the role that each other plays in making that happen, and we realize that none of us could do it alone. We acknowledge the professionalism, expertise and caring that each other brings to our districts, and we will continue to give our all for the 1.1 million students of Washington state.”

PORT TOWNSEND

According to Superintendent John Polm, the Port Townsend School District and Port Townsend Education Association have reached an agreement on compensation, as part of a two-year contract, with the PTEA ratifying the agreement Aug. 28, and the Port Townsend School Board set to vote to approve the contract during its Sept. 6 board meeting.

“Our Finance Director, Amy Khile, has done tremendous work on our budget planning, in order to help the district to maximize compensation and maintain our priority programs,” Polm said. “Our Board has set boundaries that include maintaining at least a 5 percent ending fund balance, which we accomplished with our four-year budget plan.”

Polm noted the Port Townsend School District's budget assumes enrollment will hold steady, and that other fixed costs, such as utilities, will avoid steep increases.

“Since Port Townsend is a 6 percent regionalization district, we do have additional compensation dollars compared to some districts,” Polm said. “However, we are not able to match some of the nearby districts, who have as much as 18 percent regionalization enhancement.”

CHIMACUM

Chimacum School District Superintendent Rick Thompson acknowledged that the Legislature's overhaul of K-12 funding, has confronted each district in the state, and not just his own, with new formulas that impact their salaries, as well as the long-term sustainability of their school budgets. 

“I think what you are seeing is a statewide demand for improved salaries, while at the same time, districts are concerned for how those salaries will be sustained over time,” Thompson said. “State schools taxes went up, while local levy revenues in many cases declined. The formula has many variables, so simple solutions are difficult. The formula across the state is not simple at all.”

Thompson reported the Chimacum School District and the Chimacum Education Association reached a tentative agreement on a two-year contract Aug. 30.

“The membership is required to ratify the agreement next week,” Thompson said Aug. 31. “It would not be proper for me to comment publicly about any details of the agreement prior to the membership vote.”

If the membership ratifies the vote, Thompson anticipates the agreement would be put up for approval by the Chimacum School Board Sept. 12.

QUILCENE

Quilcene School District Superintendent Frank Redmon complimented Garchow's letter as providing “a balanced, careful set of thinking points” for school districts and their surrounding communities to consider, as they assess how they might be impacted by the McCleary decision.

“For me, the most compelling part of the letter was the attention to the local context,” Redmon said. “The McCleary decision does not have the same impact on school budgets and salaries for hard-working and deserving staff and taxpaying communities for each district.”

Redmon echoed Garchow's assertion that “we all want the same thing — the best possible education for our students,” and cited his own meeting with bargaining groups in Quilcene as evidence.

“We all say the same thing,” Redmon said. “We need to make the best decisions for the students and the schools, to remain an excellent place for students to learn. And by working together, the bargaining groups and administration in Quilcene have been seeking a common understanding of what we can afford, given the changes coming from the McCleary decision.”

Redmon expressed confidence that Quilcene will complete its contract negotiations, “treating the people who work in the Quilcene School District as the professionals they are, and ensuring we can continue to improve student learning, community engagement, and be a great place to work, learn, and grow.”

BRINNON

Brinnon School District Superintendent Patricia Beathard deemed the the WSSDA letter “an important topic, especially for a district like Brinnon,” for whom regionalization poses an even greater challenge.   “The formula for determining the regionalization factor is somewhat unclear, but it seems to be related to the cost of housing,” Beathard said. “Our regionalization funding is zero percent. The three districts to our north have additional regionalization factor funding, ranging from 6 to 12 percent. Some  districts are provided with an additional 24 percent.

Likewise, while Brinnon's state funding increases, its capacity to collect local levy dollars that have been approved by its voters decreases by approximately one-third, according to Beathard.

“In a small district, enrollment is important, and a few families can make a big difference,” Beathard said. “This makes budgeting difficult for our district.