Editorial: PSD budget reflects economy

The Peninsula School District has been warning those who live within its boundaries for months that the 2009-10 budget was going to take some hits. Last Thursday, its Board of Directors made it official, painfully chopping more than $5 million to balance a shortfall that affects everyone from administrators, to teachers, to our children.

Let’s be clear: The PSD has been forthcoming with its economic situation. District officials have been holding community forums for more than a year, both in an attempt to inform the public of its situation and to gather input on public priorities.

The PSD is a perfect example of the spiral effect that occurs during an economic downturn. It’s a trickle-down effect that starts at the federal level but involves mostly state funding. In this specific case, every school district statewide was affected when the state Legislature hacked $9 billion from of its 2009-11 biennial budget. Even though education funding is the “paramount duty,” as it says in the state constitution, it wasn’t spared from being trimmed.

It’s important to note that enrollment is down, too. And since the PSD receives money from the state based on the number of students it has in its classrooms, that revenue stream was already going to be less than the past several years.

Fewer students means the district needs fewer teachers. And while the last thing we need is to have more people out of work — especially those who have such positive impacts on children — the district needed to realign its workforce to match enrollment.

Even during difficult circumstances, the school district listened to the community when it asked to have class sizes be a top priority. Case in point: The PSD sent Reduction in Force notices to 70 people in May, and it has since recalled all but 17.

The PSD has gained the public’s trust, which was evident in February when voters approved a three-year replacement levy that will cover about 17 percent of the district’s costs. It’s producing solid results, too: PSD students scored above the state average in all areas of the Washington Assessment of Student Learning exam.

These are trying times, but the PSD is persevering well.