Overview

February 10, 2009

 

Dear Friends,

It's hard to listen to the news, read the newspaper or search the internet without reading about companies going through budget reductions. As I stated in my messages to you in the Sunday Evening News and in the Courier-Herald, K-12 education will also experience reductions as less money will come to local school districts from the state of Washington for the 2009-2010 school year.

In the Enumclaw School District, we are taking a broad and comprehensive look at the key factors that will impact our 2009-2010 budget. We believe by doing this, combined with seeking input from you and community members, we can make the best decisions possible for the students and staff in the Enumclaw School District during these difficult times.

Currently we are looking at four key areas of impact:
Enrollment Predictions
Our staff has worked diligently to predict and determine our enrollment for next year. School districts receive money from the state based upon enrollment, so predicting this number is a key first step in the budget process.

Current Budget
We are striving to conservatively use our budget this year in order to move into next year's budget in the best situation possible.

State Shortfall
As I shared last month, the Governor released her biennium budget in December. It is now being used as a basis for our legislators to create the budget that will be used. If we used the Governor's budget, our school district would have nearly $2 million less coming to our school system. This represents approximately 5% of our district's budget. Like Enumclaw, none of the 294 other districts are exempt from these cuts. Final decisions about our funding from the state legislature could be months away and this makes it difficult to plan and predict the full impact. Minimally, the legislature will wait until after the March budget forecasts for our state.

Federal Package
Our Federal Government through the American Recovery and Investment Act (Stimulus Package) could send funds to school districts in specific categories such as Special Education and Title One. We're watching this closely as it could help.

Even though we do not have all the exact information, particularly from the state, we are being proactive in our planning. During the month of February, we have been involving staff in the process of providing input regarding next year's budget as we look to reduce about $2 million. We also would appreciate hearing from you, as well, if you have thoughts and ideas to share. Please feel free to email me at mike_nelson@enumclaw.wednet.edu.

Thanks for all that you do for our students!

In Partnership with you,

Mike Nelson