Closing Madison and McKenny schools taken off table as OSD cuts central office and more
The Olympia School Board accepted a plan from Superintendent Patrick Murphy Thursday to balance next school year’s budget without closing Madison and McKenny elementary schools. The plan includes furloughing leadership positions, including Murphy’s, and reducing others.
Murphy presented two four-year plans for balancing the school budget at the board’s April 25 meeting. One was to close the two elementary schools. The other included administrative budget cuts, which should keep schools off the chopping block for several years at least.
Central Office reductions
Murphy said enrollment has declined by 7% since the 2019-2020 school year. It’s projected to continue to decline 0.4% to 1% per year. To match enrollment numbers, he said Central Office costs will be reduced by 10% over the next four years.
Central office administrators, including the superintendent, will take furlough days starting in the 2024-2025 school year to save $68,000 a year. The superintendent will take 10 days and the board of directors will take five days. Other directors and supervisors will take three days of furlough.
The Executive Director for Communications and Community Relations will be reduced to a director-level position. Supervision of public records will be shifted to another department. These changes should save $35,000 a year.
The district also will eliminate the Director of Secondary Special Education position in Student Support for a savings of $196,000 a year. Their responsibilities will be spread out among remaining staff.
Enrollment-driven staffing allocations will be implemented for school administrators and some Central Office positions may be eliminated to save $372,000 a year.
In-school reductions
Family liaison positions in schools will be reduced to save $174,000 a year. The district will maintain half-time family liaisons at their highest-needs schools. Murphy said family liaisons serve as a bridge between families and schools, and they address student adjustment issues, attendance and family support.
These positions are still funded through the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) fund now, but will be paid for through basic education funds in the future. ESSER funds were part of COVID and economic stimulus money from the federal government.
Behavior tech hours will be reduced to save $119,000 a year. Behavior techs provide support to students who are emotionally dysregulated.
The CISPUS outdoor education program that currently offers elementary students a three-day, two-night camping experience will be reduced to a one-day experience. It will save the district an estimated $100,000 a year.
Other savings
The district will pass credit card fees on to consumers for games and events for an estimated yearly savings of $83,000.
Contingencies, which are added throughout the budget in case of price increases and unforeseen circumstances, will be reduced for an estimated savings of $530,000.
The district will review its tech subscriptions and licenses for a possible savings of $70,000. And it will review facility rental fees for an additional $50,000 of revenue.
It’s estimated that total savings for the 2024-2025 school year could total nearly $1.7 million. By the 2027-2028 school year, OSD could be saving more than $2 million through these cuts.
