Let's Examine the Latest Seattle Schools Budget Document

Update:

It appears I was mistaken about page 20 of the budget presentation which has two blocks of information that I thought were both going to happen. 

Those blocks are 1) the option of closing schools OR 2) if the Board doesn't want to close schools, all the items in that block - raising class size, no APs for elementary/K-8, reduce librarian time, etc. - would be done to find that same savings.

It's quite the Sophie's Choice for the Board except that you will have fewer direct effects if you close schools than if you do cuts in every direction. 

I do note that Director Gina Topp did ask that ALL the costs in closing schools be labelled so that the Board has the clearest information. That all the costs were not included in this presentation is curious.

End of update

Kids, it's not good. All documents referenced are in this agenda.

One agenda item for the School Board meeting this Wednesday is waaay at the bottom and it's called "Study Session" and not Work Session. The document names the session, "Budget Study Session 1."

What I dislike about these budget sessions is how they use up time during them by going over what was already discussed over the last months to the Board.

 

Executive Summary

The district is moving to a multi-year budgeting planning system. This document to be presented to the Seattle School Board is an explanation of what senior SPS staff are thinking for the budget for school year 2025-2026. The Board meeting is on Wednesday, August 29, 2024.

The document lists a number of factors that could influence that budget including a renewal of an SPS levy in Feb. 2025, a renewal of a City education levy in November 2025, labor contract negotiations and enrollment (which has been steadily dropping over the last several years). 

They also state that the new "Well-Resourced Schools" plan will need to be fully rolled out in that year. 

The most concerning issue is a list of items NOT used for budgeting in 2024-2025 but are possible items for 2025-2026. These include no assistant principals in elementary or K-8 (this despite the consolidation of closed schools into new and bigger elementary buildings), increasing class sizes across the board from elementary to high school, and elimination of "school equity funds."

Presentation

• Seattle Public Schools’ adopted General Fund Operating Budget for 2024-25 is $1.25 billion.

• Maintains Strategic Plan investments of $8.3 million.

• Keeps all schools open for the 2024-25 school year.

• On-going reductions of more than $90 million over last two years.

• 2024-25 Budget changes:
• Central Office staffing and expense reductions
• School staffing allocation reductions
• Non-represented staff compensation reductions
• Other one-time solutions
• Convenience fees and voluntary athletic fees implementation

• A short-term interfund loan of $27.5 million was utilized to balance the budget for 2024-25 which requires repayment by June 30, 2026

 

Long-Term Financial Outlook

Fiscal Year          Total Resources      Total Expenditures   Contribution To/(From) Fund

2024-25                $1,174,108,329      $1,252,959,867        $(78,851,538)
2025-26                $1,173,668,814      $1,267,941,502        $(94,272,688)
2026-27                $1,180,370,195      $1,285,273,427        $(104,903,233)
2027-28                $1,190,358,386      $1,303,112,573        $(112,754,187)

As you can see from this chart, Resources are going up but so are Expenditures.

 

Page 15 is interesting as it's a bar graph of spending/funding per student which had a low of $9,669 in 2013-2014 to a high in 2018-2019 of $12,525 to last year at $11,588.

 

WASA (Washington Association of School Administrators) wants the legislative focus on Special Education funding, MSOC (materials, supplies and operating costs) and pupil transportation. 

 

Then, on page 18, we come to yet another new term - Educational Program Resolution - which I believe is school closures. On this page it lists the next three months' work.

- August 28th - Assessment/Foundation (No idea what this means but maybe all will be revealed on Wednesday.)

- September 18th - Introduction of Educational Program Resolution per Board Policy No. 0060 

- November 19 - Board action on Educational Program Resolution per Board Policy No. 0060

 

As you may recall, the district wants to move to multi-year budgeting instead of just budgeting for one school year. Page 19 lists "significant variables" for 2025-2026. They include:

- Well-resourced schools

-  Enrollment

- Strategic Plan Development

- Legislative session impacts

- Labor agreements expiring

- SPS Levy vote in February 2025

- City FEPP levy vote in November 2025

I would probably have put "boundary changes" with "enrollment" because that is going to ripple out across the district with a tsunami effect. 

I hadn't realized that the City's education levy was also coming up in 2025. I wonder if the district would ask the City to bump up their levy if the district's BEX levy fails in February.

 

Then we come to what is the MOST important page in this presentation, page 20 - Decision Point. Meaning, they want to make more cuts in 2025-2026 because closing schools will NOT be enough. The way it is worded is a bit cagey as I cannot tell for certain what the two information blocks here mean. 

I'm supposing that after school closures and their savings (see right green block), the district STILL needs to cut more and that's the red block to the left. 

Typical K-5 Serving School Est. Cost Savings

• Other Support $940,000: Includes activities foundational to the operation of schools but not directly in the context of student instruction.

• Principal’s Office $375,000: Includes management and coordination at the school level.

• Teaching Support $170,000: Includes building-based support services.

Total $1,485,000 x 20 = $29.7 million

Since they multiply by 20, I'm sure the info above is about closing schools.

Now the other block:

Alternative Budget Reductions for 2025-2026 

Potential Reductions.                        Positions     Savings

Eliminate all Elem. & K -8 School Asst. Principals        22          $  5.0 million
Increase middle & high school class sizes to 34:1         72.2         $11.2 million
Increase 4th & 5th grades class sizes to 30:1                 32.5         $  5.0 million
Increase K -3 class sizes (varies)                                     15            $  2.3 million
Reduce all Librarian positions to .5 max                       15.5         $  2.7 million
Eliminate all School Equity Funds                                                 $  5.4 million

 Total  157.2 positions   $31.6 million

Removing assistant principals when they are opening new and larger elementary buildings? How does that even make sense?

Increasing class sizes? Never good

ALL librarians at .5? We will lose good librarians to districts that fund them.

As for the "school equity funds," I would have to understand what they were being used for but it seems to fly in the face of their strategic plan.

 

On page 21, they also say that there will be transportation changes so yes, going from 3-tiers to 2-tiers is a done deal. 

Also on this page - new to me - "restructuring of non-comprehensive high schools." What is this? 

There is also a vague - "school programs" savings. What schools and what programs? 

There may also reduce salaries/benefits by 1% and I assume this is at the district headquarters.

It also appears there may be service fees for using some district services. Who this affects is unclear. 

 

From page 24 - Timeline for Full Implementation of Polices 0060 and 0061 (partial):

In an effort to minimize disruption to schools, and in light of the fact that a number of the items outlined in Policy 0060 are dependent on a new Strategic Plan and implementation of a system of Well-resourced Schools, it is recommended that full implementation begin with the 2025-26 school year. It is anticipated that full implementation will take more than one year.