News - Local News

POSTED: Thursday, May. 07, 2009

Beach School remains open in Ferndale superintendent's plan

FERNDALE - Beach Elementary School will remain open and enroll all elementary grades under a proposed 2009-10 budget cut plan for the Ferndale School District.

Superintendent Roger Lehnert unveiled his plan for how the district can cut up to $2.25 million in the next school year at a special school board meeting on Wednesday, May 6.

"I fully recognize this a painful time for a lot of people. This isn't something school districts did to themselves; this was done to them," said Lehnert, who has long argued that education funding in Washington needs to be changed. Closing Beach Elementary, the school on Lummi Island, or reducing it to a K-3 school were both budget cut ideas suggested by the district's 26-member Budget Advisory Group earlier this spring.

The school is deemed "remote and necessary" by the state, because of its location and the number of students who live on the island.

"I took a very careful look at Beach Elementary," Lehnert said. "And I think from my perspective Beach is a very unique situation, it's a very valued situation, and it has a community that has shown a willingness to change and adapt."

Beach Elementary parents in the audience applauded the decision, but it does come with some cuts. Lehnert's plan calls for reducing about $151,000 in expenses from the school.

In all, the district is facing a projected $1.4 million revenue shortfall stemming from budget cuts imposed by the state Legislature for the 2009-11 biennium.

But Lehnert and district officials are suggesting the school board approve cuts beyond the revenue shortfall to allow flexibility. The district estimates fall enrollment in the spring, and if enrollment is overestimated, a large funding deficit can result.

"It's absolutely imperative at this point to build some capacity to adapt to changing circumstances," said Mark Deebach, executive director of business and support services. "We don't have the financial resources or the fund balance to cover ourselves." The school board and district officials will discuss staffing reductions in more detail at a special meeting on Friday, May 8, but Lehnert's plan does call for reducing the equivalent of 8 full-time teaching positions.

Other proposals include:

-Reducing district office and administration costs by about $196,000.

-Changing seventh-grade sports to an intramural program.

-Charging $60 per year for high school athletic participation and $30 for middle school.

-Consolidating bus stops, saving about $15,000.

-Offering all-day kindergarten at the three elementary schools with the greatest needs. District officials are looking at ways to offer full-day options at other schools at little or no cost to the district.

The school board is scheduled to adopt the 2009-10 budget at the end of June, before Lehnert retires.

FOR MORE

To see Superintendent Roger Lehnert's proposed budget reductions, and the presentation from Wednesday's meeting, go to www.Ferndale.wednet.edu.