Othello schools trims budget

OTHELLO — Parents and Othello School District patrons will be invited to informational meetings as OSD implements a downsizing plan for the 2025-26 school year. 

The district will cut 13 elementary classroom teachers and close Desert Oasis High School, a plan announced to staff in late October. Librarians will be cut at all four OSD elementary schools; one librarian and the dean of athletics will be cut at McFarland Middle School. Two district administrative positions also will be eliminated. Closing DOHS will eliminate six provisional or non-certificated teachers at the alternative school and Othello High School, according to a release on the OSD website. 

A meeting for parents was held Tuesday, and Jessica Schenck, assistant superintendent of teaching and learning, said more are planned as district officials work on details. An update is scheduled for the Dec. 18 Othello School Board meeting. 

Othello is one of several districts in the Columbia Basin that has had to trim its budget as student body numbers – and subsequently apportionment funding – grow smaller. Other financial issues have contributed to shortfalls for the Moses Lake School District and Wahluke School District.  

District officials wanted to announce the cuts early to give teachers who may be losing a job a chance to plan, Schenck said. It also gives building administrators a chance for advance planning.  

The cuts announced for 2025-26 follow the elimination of 12 teaching positions for the 2024-25 school year. Othello School Board Chair Ken Johnson said the reductions are a reflection of declining enrollment and less money as a result. 

“We are using about $5.5 million of our reserves for this year’s budget to get by,” Johnson said. “Inflation, the cost of doing business – we've only got so much money.”  

September K-12 enrollment was the equivalent of 4,308 full-time students, according to Amy Suarez, executive director for business services, in a report submitted to the school board in late October.  

That was the equivalent of 18 students more than the 2024-25 budget projection, but the equivalent of 14 students less than the average enrollment for 2023-24, Suarez wrote. Average enrollment in 2023-24 was 2,322. But that’s about 90 students below the original budget projection, she said in an August presentation to the board.  

As of now enrollment is flat, Schenck said, but that followed a long period when classes increased every year. The biggest classes are at OHS and McFarland Middle School.  

The OSD release said district officials have the goal of reducing expenditures for 2025-26 by about $3 million. Johnson said the original estimate for the shortfall was about $4 million. 

“Both the Othello Education Association and the OSD agree that the initial step to right-size the district involves maximizing class sizes across K-12,” the OSD release said. “Currently the greatest potential for savings lies within the K-6 grade levels.” 

Schenck said parents have asked how big elementary classes will be in the next school year. That’s determined by the district’s contract with OEA. 

“The class sizes are staying within the contracted limits (negotiated) with our teachers union,” she said.  

Johnson said the goal is to minimize the impact on students. 

“We’re not going to be cutting services to kids,” he said.  

Desert Oasis is located about a block from Lutacaga Elementary; DOHS enrollment has remained steady, Johnson said, but as overall enrollment declines OSD won’t be able to maintain a separate building. 

“Unfortunately, that facility is costly to run,” Johnson said.  

A relocation plan for DOHS students is still being written, Schenck said. 

“We have a lot of different ways that we can structure that,” she said.  

District officials want to continue to offer educational options that worked at DOHS as its students make the move to the high school. 

“We have the chance to do some really, really positive things for students in this transition,” Schenck said. 

Former DOHS students will have access to additional support.  

“One of the goals is to make sure all students feel like they belong at Othello High School,” she said.