North Kitsap School District budget process coming to a close

Published 4:04 pm Thursday, February 12, 2009

KINGSTON — The North Kitsap School District is hoping its efforts to open a dialogue with the community will pay dividends.

School board members sat down individually with teachers, parents and students Wednesday in the Kingston High School commons to discuss possible cuts to the district’s 2009-10 budget.

“Through this process, we’re learning what is important to the community,” said Superintendent Rick Jones. “It should help us in our decision making.”

The public input portion of the budget reduction process has been extensive, and is now drawing to a close. Over the past few months, the district has invited community members to make budget suggestions through various means.

The process began last fall, when the district started its blue note campaign. The public was asked to send suggestions for reducing the budget to the district office via comment cards. More than 200 such notes had been received as of this week.

Around the same time as the blue note campaign, work groups chose 89 budget reduction ideas that were then rated by members of the community as well as school district personnel. Community members and staff only agreed on two of the 89 ideas, though.

But by giving voice to the public, the district is setting a new precedent.

“I like the visibility of the process,” said Wally Lis, director of curriculum and assessment. “This is a real supportive community, and the only way to build up that trust is for them to see” the decision making process.

Still, what remains to be seen is how much sway public opinion will have in the final budget changes later this spring.

“This is the first time our district has gone through this process,” said Spectrum Assistant Principal Jackie Finckler. “It’s a very time-intensive process. Any time we ask community members to put in that kind of time, I just want to make sure it’s working.”

Finckler was optimistic about the low turnout Wednesday, saying it seems the district has “saturated” the public’s need for input.

Sarah Hamal, a fifth-grader from Gordon Elementary, came out with her mother, Cammie, to petition for Starbase Atlantis, a science program hosted at Naval Base Kitsap — Bangor. The Hamals and many of Sarah’s classmates see the program as a rare opportunity to get students interested in astronomy.

“They need that lightbulb turned on,” said Cammie Hamal.

District authorities estimated a $1.3 million budget shortfall for the upcoming school year. But the true disparities between income and actual monies will not be known until at least May, when the state legislature doles out its education funds. Real budget cuts could be much greater than $1.3 million, but the district doubts that number will get any smaller.

The district recently saved taxpayers in North Kitsap more than $78,000 over the next three years by refinancing the 2001 bond, but that money will not be applicable toward the 2009-2010 budget shortfall. Instead, those savings will show up as minutely lower taxes next year.

The district has had to make budget cuts each of the past few years, and authorities expressed frustration with their circumstances Wednesday.

School Board Member Ed Strickland said the state legislature has shirked its chief responsibilities by failing to provide adequate funds for education in recent years.

Lis, who would like to see the district keep as many technology programs as possible, added, “It’s really a shame that all school districts, not just North, have to go through this.”