"A Sad Time for Education"

Borgen told the School Board Thursday night that he’s not ready to make any recommendations on potential budget cuts until the legislature passes a final state budget, which he expects will be Sunday night.

But, Borgen said “The picture looks close to our worst scenario.” He said the state budget will have a “pretty profound impact for schools.”

Borgen said the school district administration will be prepared to take a close look at next week’s special School Board meeting, set for Thursday at 6:15. The School Board has also set a meeting for May 5 to take any necessary action on next year’s school district budget.

Borgen said athletic programs will be affected, including the likely introduction of so-called pay-to-play fees around $50 per sport. All the schools in the area are looking at programs that involve reducing the number of games. He suggested some thought has been given to telling schools outside Skagit County to go play with Everett, rather than schedule games with schools in Skagit County.

Either cuts of fees of more than $100,000 will be needed to make popular sports work. He said high school sports will need to either make cuts of $50,000 or raise an equal amount through fees to keep the sports alive.