Additional general fund money could help Wenatchee phase in $9 million in reductions

“It’s a pretty big range when you look at that,” Eagle said. “Part of the reason that the range is so large at this point is because we’re so early in the process.”

According to Eagle’s presentation, the process is impacted by the current legislative session, enrollment figures and a reduction of federal money. The district continues to cite declining birthrates and the closure of the Alcoa plant, among other factors, for an enrollment decline that resulted in reduced state funds.

Since the 2015-2016 school year, enrollment has declined by over 700 students. Eagle said Wenatchee will for a “phased approach” over multiple years.

After reporting the general fund balance is $2.8 million higher than anticipated during the 2022-2023 budget cycle, Eagle plans to draft a resolution for the additional money to go toward 2023-2024 staffing and operating costs.

“The fact that we have strong reserves allows us to manage reductions in a phased approach over a three-year period, this year being the first year, as we continue to decrease our expenses,” Eagle said Monday.

The school board will host a regularly-scheduled meeting at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, and the resolution could be ready at that time.

“What it would do is, in a sense, allow us to continue reductions into the next year, the (2024-2025) year as part of the phased approach,” Eagle said. “It gives us an additional year to make use of things like natural attrition and spreads the impact over more than a single year.”

During the workshop, board members seemed receptive to using the funds for staffing.

“It seems like spreading the reductions over numerous years is the right thing to do for our people,” said budget subcommittee member Laura Jaecks. “Both our staff and our students.”

The other four board members also expressed an interest in using the additional funds toward next year’s budget.

During the workshop, Eagle shared some initial results from a staff survey on the budget. According to Eagle, the survey asked staff for suggestions for reductions, a brief description of the idea, the estimated cost savings and the positive and negative benefits of the proposal.

According to the presentation, “most suggestions seem to involve reductions in staffing,” which focused on non-classroom positions.

“I would say the fact that most reduction suggestions were about staffing means that we’ve communicated well that salaries and benefits comprise the bulk of our general fund expenses,” Eagle said, adding that the district continues work to reduce other costs.

The presentation states many staff members perceive the “district is ‘top heavy’ in administrators.”

The district has determined some suggestions are not feasible, such as adopting a four-day week for the upcoming school year, or would not result in a notable decrease, such as switching to Chromebooks from iPads.

Wenatchee previously identified guiding budget principles, including a commitment to timeliness, transparency, collaboration and accountability. According to the district’s timeline, board members could select from different budget scenarios in late February.

The district’s budget website can be found at wenatcheeschools.org/budget.