The first cut . . .

The budgeting process started today when Governor Gregoire released her list of potential budget cuts  and as expected it will create problems for us and for all other districts in this state. Needing to cut in the range of $2 billion, she listed potential cuts of approximately $4 billion. From that list she identified her recommendations for consideration when the legislature convenes in special session on November 28th.


I watched part of the news conference and it was not pleasant to watch. The need and the process to arrive at the proposed cuts have taken their toll on the Governor as she outlined what she calls a budget that I hate. At times she was testy with reporter’s question especially around the point of balancing cuts with raising additional revenue. She stated more than once that she was not ready to talk about raising revenue.

What do the cuts mean for us? Though we are still getting information and analyzing the impact on us, the initial review looks like there are two main areas of concern. The first is levy equalization (LEA) that she is proposing to reduce by 50% or about $500,000 for us. The second is a proposal to increase class sizes in grades 4-12 that would be about a $1 million revenue loss for us. Just these two areas are about equivalent to 50% of our total fund balance, so it would be very, very difficult to operate the remainder of this year without some reduction in our expenditures.

In the next few days we will have a better picture of what the Governor’s proposed budget does to us. Of course, this is her proposal and the legislature must now weigh in. It is her hope that leaders of both parties will use her proposal to identify where they can agree so that they can come in on the 28th and be prepared to take action. That is also our hope.

You can see the proposed education list and cuts here and read about them here.