As the Anacortes School Board has approved a nearly $60 million budget for the coming school year, Board members acknowledged a coming funding crisis in the years ahead.
Board members Jack Curtis and Diana Farnsworth both commented as they voted to approved the budget on Thursday evening.
Curtis said he is deeply concerned about what the next round of reductions will look like. He said “it will be painful.” He said, “Nobody wants to do it,” acknowledging that painful cuts will need to be made next year.
Farnsworth shared Curtis’s concerns. “This isn’t where we want to be financially.” She said, “This is a statewide thing. I’m hopeful that our state will notice that we have these problems like every other school district.” But, pointed out that the district is continuing to look at how cuts will impact students.
While some personnel cuts are being made, the budget for the school year starting on Sept. 1 will be minimally different from the about-to-end year, according to District Chief Financial Officer Mike Sullivan.
The ASD budget is about $2.5 million above what the state allocates for instructors, about another $2.5 million above state allocations for classified staff and about $500,000 for administrative staff. In addition, Sullivan said ASD has about twelve more FTEs (full-time equivalents) overstaffed.
The District anticipates about $3.8 million in increased revenue and expects spending it all. Looking ahead, the District expects to need to reduce expenses by at least $600,000 for the 2025/26 school year.
The School Board and District staff were meeting in a retreat today to start planning a year ahead.