Ferndale School District weighs impacts of Intalco Works aluminum smelter closing
The Ferndale School District will feel the loss when Alcoa’s Intalco Works aluminum smelter closes and lays off 700 employees, but it’s too soon to say what the extent of that impact will be, officials said Thursday, April 23.
In its announcement Wednesday, Alcoa Corp. said the decision to close its smelter near Ferndale was based on declining market conditions.
What was described as a curtailment is expected to be completed by the end of this July, although it was unclear whether the closure would be permanent, according to a Bellingham Herald article.
“There is no other way to say this — I am devastated for my community. I am sad today but I know this community. I know that we will come together like we always do,” Ferndale School District Superintendent Linda Quinn said Thursday in a prepared statement.
“Ferndale Mayor Greg Hansen has committed resources and support from the City of Ferndale and I join him in committing the resources of our school district as we come alongside our students and families who are in crisis because of this shutdown,” Quinn said.
The school district has about 4,700 students in grades preschool through 12.
Erin Vincent, spokeswoman for the school district, told The Bellingham Herald on Thursday that the district was “working hard to get our arms around the impact” and was developing a plan to support families who need counseling and other resources.
“This is devastating news to many at a time when people are already struggling,” Vincent said.
The smelter’s closure will affect the school district’s budget.
“There will be a direct impact to the school district as Intalco’s property value will almost certainly decrease when it closes. It may be some time before we fully understand the scope,” Vincent said.
“There are many other variables including decline in home values, loss of enrollment and the secondary impact to the local business community. Those impacts will be hard to know until after the shutdown,” she added.
The school district already is facing financial challenges.
Ferndale voters turned down a four-year operations levy request in February that would have provided about 13% of the budget for the Ferndale School District.
The school district said then that it was looking at estimated cuts of $7 million for the 2020-2021 school year and $13 million for the following school year.
All seven school districts in Whatcom County asked their voters to approve four-year levies in the Feb. 11 special election and Ferndale’s was the only one voted down.
Officials said the levies were critical to their efforts to educate children and pay for technology, and they helped bridge the gap between what the state provides for education and what it actually costs.
The school district then asked voters to reconsider the levy for an April 28 special election before deciding in mid-March to postpone the request because of the COVID-19 outbreak. At that point, the request was for a two-year levy at a lower rate.
On April 7, the Ferndale School Board decided to once again put the measure back before voters, this time on the ballot for the Nov. 3 general election.
“After making the decision to remove the April 28th levy proposal from the ballot, this was another very difficult decision,” Vincent said. “On the one hand, waiting until November means we will be forced to move forward with the reductions in force necessary to create a balanced budget for 2020-2021 school year without levy dollars. On the other hand, the board could not envision asking voters to consider a levy at this point in the pandemic.”
Reductions in force are layoff notices.
The levy term and rate will be considered at a future board meeting, according to Vincent.
