Kelso weighs cutting elementary principal amid budget constraints
The Kelso School Board considered $2.4 million in budget reductions for the 2026-2027 school year at its Monday meeting.
The proposal involves a number of staffing reductions, including the head principal at Carrolls Elementary School, and cuts to the district's Transition to Kindergarten program.
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Staffing reductions make up about 82% of the proposal, while the remaining 18% comes from reductions in materials, supplies and operating costs, Chief Financial and Operations Officer Scott Westlund said at the meeting.
Community members can give feedback at two listening sessions scheduled for 2-4 p.m. and 5-7 p.m. Wednesday, by emailing budget.input@kelsosd.org or by scheduling a meeting with Superintendent Mary Beth Tack.
The board plans to take action on the proposed reductions at its May 18 meeting. Final budget adoption is scheduled for Aug. 10.
Administrative reductions
Removing the head principal position at Carrolls Elementary would save about $200,000, Westlund said at the meeting.
Five assistant principals from the district's other elementary schools would fill the role instead, with each assistant principal taking one day per week at Carrolls Elementary and spending the other four at their home school, Tack said.
"None of these are the gold standard," she said. "When you go through $6.5 million in reductions, the gold standard is jeopardized and challenged, but we have a really strong team that I know will deliver excellence in that model."
The district has made just over $4 million in reductions in the last two school years combined. The proposed reductions would bring the total to about $6.5 million.
Carrolls is the smallest elementary school in Kelso School District. The Washington Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction reports that it had 110 students enrolled at the beginning of the current school year.
Based on current trends, the district expects enrollment at Carrolls Elementary to drop to around 70 students in the next few years, Westlund said.
He also proposed reducing district administrator salaries, adding five furlough days for district directors and Tack and removing one dean of students position at Kelso High School. The school currently has two deans, according to its staff directory.
Other reductions included cutting overtime and professional development, reducing school budgets by $50,000, and cutting the technology and Chromebook budget by $160,000.
Total administrative and district-wide reductions add up to $920,000, or about 38% of the proposed reductions, Westlund said.
Classroom
Butler Acres Elementary Transition to Kindergarten teacher Marci McCoy plays with students during their free time at the school on Tuesday, Oct. 8, 2024, in Kelso.
Certificated staff
The district plans to reduce its Transition to Kindergarten staffing by three full-time equivalents because of state cuts to the program. Kelso currently has 10 Transition to Kindergarten classes.
The free preschool program aims to help students who may not have access to other forms of preschool prepare for kindergarten. District and state data shows that students who participate go on to perform better in kindergarten.
The district hopes to add three new Head Start sections to replace the Transition to Kindergarten classes it expects to lose, Westlund said. It will likely have an answer from Head Start officials about whether that's possible in early May.
Head Start is a federally funded preschool program aimed at low-income families. Lower Columbia College runs Cowlitz County's Head Start program.
The total proposed reductions for certificated staff add up to $1.12 million, Westlund said.
They also include reducing teaching staff by five full-time equivalents to align with enrollment levels, reducing elementary and middle school stipends for extracurricular activities and eliminating the building tech coordinator stipend at each school.
Classified staff
The largest proposed reduction for classified staff is eliminating in-school suspension at both middle schools, which would save $105,000 in staffing costs, Westlund said.
He said the district has not yet figured out an alternative solution for students who would normally be sent to in-school suspension. During in-school suspension, students are removed from their normal classes but remain in the school building and are supervised by a staff member.
Other proposed changes include reducing some staff hours and eliminating one custodial position via attrition, meaning removing the position after the current employee leaves.
The reductions add up to $355,000, Westlund said.
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