MLSD board examining funding priorities

MOSES LAKE — How to use the funding available to the Moses Lake School District, what programs or services should be supported and which can be deferred or cut, at least temporarily, was the subject of discussion at a special Moses Lake School Board meeting Tuesday.

Carol Lewis, acting Moses Lake School District superintendent, said district officials are still working out what’s possible in light of the district’s financial situation. District voters rejected an educational programs and operations — or EP&O — levy request in April, which was followed by the discovery that accounting errors and declining enrollment, among other factors, led to the draining of most of the district’s reserves.

District officials have been working since mid-May to clarify MLSD’s financial situation, and board chair Kirryn Jensen asked if the research had determined what would be required to provide a basic education and school security.

“As we’ve been kicking around ideas and planning that’s been at the forefront of our thinking — how do we offer a basic education and keep kids safe?” Lewis said. “But again, as I’ve said over and over and over again, we're having to start to wrap our minds around (the fact) we’re not going to be able to do everything that we did before. We just can’t with that much of a reduction, but safety and basic education are our priorities.” 

According to a presentation by Lewis, MLSD officials anticipate the cost of paying the necessary certificated staff — teachers — for the 2024-25 school year will be between $55.6 and $58.51 million. As of now, district officials are projecting the district will receive about $49.2 million in basic education funds from the state. Basic education funds are allocated based on the number of students in school, so the actual funding will depend on enrollment.

The contract between the Moses Lake Education Association, the union representing teachers, and MLSD includes a clause to reexamine the contract if the levy is rejected. Lewis said district officials are considering a request to enter negotiations with the union.

The district is negotiating with the union representing classified (non-teaching) staff. In her presentation, Lewis estimated the cost of an adequate classified staff, excluding transportation and food services employees, would be about $16.1 million. Moses Lake is projected to receive about $10.38 million in state basic school support. 

Necessary special education funding was estimated at $20.34 million; MLSD was projected to receive about $20.06 million. That estimate did not include special education expenses, Lewis said.

Administrators at the district office were projected to cost about $3.02 million, with the state allocation estimated at $2.95 million. Principals were estimated at $4.88 million, with the state allocation estimated at $3.82 million. Lewis said administrative contracts were being reviewed, and district officials are in negotiation with the principals.

District officials are still looking at ways to cut costs at the administrative level, Lewis said, everything from cell phone stipends to eliminating the buyback of unused personal leave days.

There are other sources of income, Lewis said, from federal programs and state funding over and above basic education. However, much of that money comes with requirements for how it may be spent, she said.

The district will receive some money, Lewis estimated about $3.5 million, this fall from the levy passed in 2021, but that levy revenue will cease afterward and not continue through the 2024-25 school year.

“When you have local levy dollars, they can come in and can fill any gaps (in funding), anywhere you want,” Lewis said.

But in the district’s current financial situation any levy money that comes in will have to go toward the basic education program, she said. District officials will be asking to spend some of the money allocated toward specific programs for other expenses, she said, but in order to do that the district must prove it exhausted all other revenue sources. That would include the levy, she said.

Lewis went through a list of district programs and asked board members which they thought should be prioritized for funding after basic education. Board member Paul Hill said he felt the school resource officer program should be at the top of the list.

“Number one,” Hill said. “Top number one.”

The district has four school resource officers through its contract with the Moses Lake Police Department. Lewis said the historical cost for the program would be about $339,000. The district paid for it out of the EP&O levy.

Jensen and board member Carla Urias agreed. 

Moses Lake also employs security personnel and historically spends about $489,000 for them. That too was primarily funded out of levy revenue. Board members said that too would be at the top of the priority list.

Board members also discussed the district's extracurricular program, which includes sports teams and activities like band and drama. The program is completely funded by levy dollars, and Lewis said there won’t be any levy money to put toward those programs. Levy money received this fall will need to go toward education programs rather than extracurriculars.

“We clearly don’t have the money. We don’t have levy money to spend on this right now,” she said. “The community has said that they want to step up and help, and I think that partnering with the community in this situation is really a good thing to do. We could say, ‘Yeah, we just don’t have the money. We’re not doing it.’ And I don’t feel like that’s a good response for our community right now. I think we want to partner.”

Cheryl Schweizer can be reached via email at cschweizer@columbiabasinherald.com.