As the 2015-16 school year runs its last lap, the Renton School District (RSD) is gearing up for next year, and fiscally, things are looking a little tight due to a change by the state Legislature that will cost the district millions.
In a May 25 presentation, interim Assistant Superintendent of Finance Susan Smith Leland walked the school board through the building blocks for the general fund budget, enrollment trends, district initiative and priorities and challenges for the next school year.
One of the most pressing issues that was discussed at the special study was the drastic outcomes of the 2016 legislature.
The legislature ensured a 1.8 percent salary increase for teachers, fully-funded full day kindergarten and continued reduced class size in K-3.
But it is also limiting the district’s full access to the recently-passed Replacement Educational Programs, Maintenance and Operations levy. The levy is replacing the previous levy that was set to expire this year, and helps to contribute to classroom materials, textbooks, teacher salaries, support staff, building maintenance, school lunches, athletics and more.
According to Leland, the legislature’s change in the per pupil inflator (PPI) is barring RSD from their full levy authority.
The PPI is the percentage increase in basic education funding per pupil. In the previous years, the PPI was set somewhere between 4 and 5 percent and was the same percentage as salary increases. The PPI is 4.27 percent for this school year. However, Leland said for the upcoming year, legislators set the PPI to 1.09 percent, thus decreasing the district’s ability to access the full levy amount.
A lower PPI means a lower levy collection.
“[This year] we had a voter-approved levy of $43 million,” said Leland. “We had authority to collect a little over $44 million. But we didn’t have voter approval so we could only collect $43.5 million for 2016. So then comes 2017, we had voter approval for $49.581 million. We had a PPI of 1.09 percent, which meant we could collect only $46.1 million of the levy that was authorized. I have to roll back almost $3.5 million in this year’s budget. That $3.5 million is across two fiscal years.”
But Leland also said that the since the district is receiving more levy money than last year — more than $2 million — there will be no drastic cuts in the budget.
Leland also outlined the various district initiatives and priorities for the next year, including West Hill Now, support for IB program, PSAT/SAT tests, preparation for Vera Risdon Middle School and Sartori Elementary School, as well as restoring leadership positions that were frozen earlier in the school year.
Funding for the development of Multi-Tired System of Supports (MTSS) is also being prioritized, and is focusing on equipping special-needs students. MTSS is a framework that helps students graduate from high school and are well-prepared for career and college, and offers levels of academic and non academic services and supports based on individual needs.
“We’ve seen an increase of costs in special education and part of the reason for that…is often there is not a middle ground to support the students,” said Assistant Superintendent of Learning and Teaching Damien Pattenaude at the meeting. “One of the ideas is… to try to build an academic campaign that will hopefully meet the students’ needs.”
“What we’re doing is starting to look at the gap between the basic education kids who need regular educational services and high-need special education students who need specialized services. There are kids who fall into that gap,” said Leland. “We feel like we need to build a stronger foundation to serve kids who need extra help. So we’ve set aside some resources to make that happen, including some reorganization in teaching and learning to give it some leadership support.”
The district is also facing issues with hiring adequate staff. With reducing class sizes for K-3, increase in enrollment and competitive salaries among neighboring school districts, there is a concern for the lack of new hires.
“The pool even now is becoming increasingly limited,” said Assistant Superintendent of Human Resources Sheryl Moore. Moore pointed out that the almost 50 percent of new hires last year were from out of state, indicating the that there is a teacher shortage in Washington.
“Special education is even more intensely aggravated,” said Moore, concerning the scarcity of special education teachers. “We’re better than we were last year… but I’m still very concerned.”
Leland said that the district is struggling with salary equity because of competitive salary by neighboring school districts.
Enrollment trends have been increasing, as previously predicted. The 2016-2017 school year will see an estimate of 15,185 students.
The budget presentation and public hearing will be conducted at 7 p.m., June 8, and the board will approve all budget funds at 7 p.m., June 25, at Kohlwes Education Center, 300 S.W. Seventh St.
