Schools will have fewer teachers and more crowded classrooms this fall.
Courses will be dropped.
Orders for new textbooks will be shelved, and more kids will be forced to walk to school.
Those are likelihoods local school districts are facing as the state House and Senate circulate bleak budget proposals that confront a $9 billion shortfall projected for the next biennium.
Statewide, more than 3,000 teachers could lose their jobs. Thousands of other positions, from aides to administrators, also are on the hook.
The reality is starting to hit close to home as local school leaders crunch numbers based on scaled-back state funding.
School leaders spent much of their time this week dissecting the state budget proposals, which are complex in the ways they mix state and federal funding sources.
Districts say it is too early to gauge the full impact.
“It’s sort of a murky can of worms,” said Andy Muntz, a Mukilteo School District spokesman.
Even if it taps into its reserves, Mukilteo expects the Senate proposal would force cuts of $5.9 million from the district budget, while the House version would mean $2.5 million in cuts.
“The margin is really wide as to what kind of impact it will have,” Muntz said.
An online survey of 1,200 Mukilteo School District residents shows maintaining class size is the biggest priority.
The Shoreline School District received $4.5 million in I-728 money last year to reduce class sizes. Deputy superintendent Marcia Harris estimates that it might see only $1 million or less next year. The Senate budget proposes a $4.3 million cut in I-728 money for Shoreline and the House budget would chop $3 million, while Harris’ figure is in between. I-728 pays for 40 teachers, and with those budget numbers it could mean laying off 30 teachers, she said.
“I just completed my 34th year and I’ve been through a lot of budgets,” Harris said. “The state went through tough times in early ’80s and I have not seen anything like what we’re looking at until this year.”
The Edmonds School District, which compiled a list of possible cuts last month based on Gov. Chris Gregoire’s December 2008 budget, faces even more cuts under the House and Senate budgets. The Senate budget would result in $13.1 million in cuts out of the district’s general fund while the House budget would result in $8.6 million in cuts, according to a memo from superintendent Nick Brossoit.
The district is saving about $1.4 million by closing Evergreen and Woodway elementary schools next year, but the proposed cuts go beyond those closures.
Everett Public Schools face a $10 million reduction based on the Senate budget, a $7 million reduction based on the House budget, and a $6.8 million reduction based on the governor’s budget, district spokeswoman Mary Waggoner said.
Both House and Senate spending plans would suspend cost-of-living increases and training days for teachers, which could save hundreds of millions of dollars without a reduction in current services.
Other cuts hit existing services hard.
The Senate plan would eliminate $297 million the state is investing in class size reductions for students in kindergarten through fourth grade.
Federal money from the stimulus package will be given to local school districts, but there are strings attached. For instance, some money must be earmarked to special education and to Title I schools, which have high percentages of students from low-income families.
As painful as the cuts will be, school leaders hope the Legislature and governor can reach a budget compromise soon. By state law, schools are required to notify teachers by May 15 if their contracts will be renewed.
Enterprise reporter Tony Dondero contributed to this report. Eric Stevick and Kaitlin Manry write for the Herald of Everett.
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