Kennewick schools to cut $5-6 million next year after failed levy. Finley to slash 12%
The Kennewick School District’s pocketbooks will be remarkably thinner next school year after voters this year twice refused to renew its operations levy.
School officials expect to cut their spending by $5 million to $6 million, administrators told the school board earlier this month.
No layoffs are currently planned but at least 20 vacant positions will not be filled.
Class sizes aren’t likely to be impacted immediately, but programs such as special education services and bus services may be impacted.
And school officials plan to review participation in sports programs, which could result in cutting C teams or other low-attendance high school programs.
“We’re not in a place tonight where we need to make drastic and detrimental cuts that would impact our students and impact our schools. We are, though, in a place where we need to make some budget reductions because there is a reality here,” Superintendent Traci Pierce told the school board at their May 11 meeting.
Also, the district will lose $34 million in state and local matching funding over the next two school years because the district’s levy renewal failed in April after 51% of voters opposed it.
School districts in Washington state pass local property tax levies, which help fund the difference between what the state pays for basic education and the additional programs the district needs to sufficiently serve local families.
Levy funds in Kennewick, paired with a state match, make up about 11% of the district’s operational budget.
The district — which serves about 18,800 students and is the city’s largest employer — will put the issue back on the ballot next year in attempt to begin collecting the money again in 2024.
If voters reject funding for a third time, the district plans to look at reductions up to $25 million that would deeply slash staffing, sports and other programs starting in the 2023-24 school year.
That’s a reality that Finley School District, which serves about 880 students, is currently considering after its levy renewal failure this year.
“I think it goes without saying, but I’m going to say it: Without future levy funding, those enrichment programs and staffing will need to be cut,” Pierce told the board.
Another budget presentation is set for Wednesday, May 25. The school board will hold a public hearing and adopt next school year’s budget at its June 22 meeting.
Next school year
Officials say school next year won’t seem too different for students, but teachers and staff will feel the pinch.
The district plans on using a mixture of its general fund balance, state enrollment stabilization money and one-time federal Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) funds, which were designated under the American Rescue Plan Act, to absorb the budget reductions next year.
Kennewick also will eliminate about $3 million in staffing costs next school year by not filling vacant certified positions and maintenance jobs, re-allocating some teachers’ pay into other programs and other changes.
That also includes reviewing participation numbers in middle and high school athletics.
And the district anticipates $46,000 in reduction to special education services next year due to the levy failure and cuts of about $10,000 in transportation and fleet fueling next year. That may change as the budget is finalized.
“We’re in an interesting position because for this next school year, 2022-23, we can avoid making significant cuts to the things the levy has funded for a very unique reason,” Pierce said.
Vic Roberts, executive director of business operations at Kennewick School District’s business, said budget cuts next year are not expected to impact class sizes in any major way, though the district remains about 500 students below its targeted enrollment.
Those enrollment woes began around the start of the COVID pandemic, and have been slowly recovering. Increased enrollment over the next couple years could help mitigate future cuts, but that may come with additional needs for facility and staff expenses.
Program cuts in Finley
Finley School District will need to trim up to $1.2 million from its budget next school year after 52.5% of voters there rejected a two-year measure that would have collected $1.48 million locally in 2023 and $1.54 million the year after.
Superintendent Lance Hahn said it’s still early to determine what programs will be cut and how many positions they may have to eliminate.
Everything is still on the table, including some possible cuts to the middle school sports programs.
This is the first time in his 11-year tenure that they’ve had levies fail. The cuts will likely be a seismic shift for the school district.
“This is my first rodeo,” said Hahn. “It’s sad because it is going to affect our kids.”
Like Kennewick, both attempts by Finley to renew it’s levy failed.
Local levy funding and matching funds make up about 12% of the district’s total $13.9 million revenue stream.
The funding would have gone toward staffing, maintenance, student support staff, nurses, counselors, athletics, technology needs, instructional supplies and athletics.
The district plans a workshop session sometime this month to carve out the details of their budget-cutting plan.
This story was originally published May 23, 2022 at 5:00 AM.
