The Orcas Island School District is facing a very
challenging budget development process for the ’08-’09
school year. The District has just
released agendas for its next two meetings, this
Thursday April the 24th
and Wed. April 30th. Both meetings will focus on
proposed program and
personnel cuts for next year, given the projected
budget deficit
announced at the April 17th School Board meeting,
which is substantially
greater than the projected deficit this time last
year.
A “first pass” at proposed cuts will be offered by
Supt. Harris at this
Thursday’s meeting, with Board discussion scheduled
from 4:30-6:30 pm,
followed by a time for general comments from the
public from 6:30-8:00
pm. The public is also invited to participate from
5:00-7:00 pm on
Wednesday, April 30th, after which there will be a
special Board meeting
from 8:00-9:00 pm, with a potential vote on the
proposed cuts–a vote
which is required by State timelines to occur by May
1st. (The exact timing of the meetings may still
change somewhat, and we will do our best to keep you
apprised of any changes.)
The PTSA encourages all concerned school and community
members to
attend the meetings and voice their concerns for the
coming year. We also
encourage everyone to remember that our School Board
members are elected
volunteers, who give their time to further their
visions of doing
what’s best for our kids. There will be
disagreements, but they can (and
hopefully will) be voiced respectfully, so we can
keep moving forward in
a productive way.
If we can take this situation as an opportunity to
reassess how we can best provide the opportunities and
experiences we want our kids to have, work together
throughout the summer to support OIEF and other active
fundraisers for our schools, and focus on the good
things our schools do on a daily basis, we’ll be
better able to take on this latest challenge and come
up with creative solutions to restore as many cut
programs and personnel as we possibly can before the
start of the ’08-’09 school year
