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Schools

Sumner School Board Faces a New Year of Challenges, Transitions

The Sumner School Board set the new superintendent search in motion at last night's meeting and learned about projected funding reductions in the next school year.

It didn’t take long for new Sumner School Board members Paul Bucich and Casey Chamberlain to learn about the realities the district may face in planning for next year’s budget, and the task of finding a new district leader.

Bucich and Chamberlain were sworn-in at the Dec. 14 board meeting in the district central office boardroom.

Bucich asked the board to consider planning a meeting with search firms in hopes of developing a pool of superintendent candidates as soon as possible.

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“It’s important for me to do this,” he said. This follows the to extend interim Superintendent Craig Spencer's contract through 2013.

Spencer said something would be planned as early as January, to get as much information as possible available.

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“The earlier I can get the information the better,” Bucich said.

Board member Mike Pavlik said he felt getting more information would be helpful to all board members.

“I felt I did a disservice to the district when we hired the last superintendent the way we did,” Pavlik said. “I’d like to get it right this time.”

While finding the district’s next superintendent is certainly a priority, the district will also face funding reductions from the state.

Debbie Campbell, Business Services Executive Director, presented in what way a $1.4 billion budget shortfall for the state will impact K-12 education -- Sumner schools in particular. The Sumner School District is projected to face a $1.7 million reduction in state funding, she said.

“We’re still breathing here,” Campbell assured the board in her presentation.

The amount is less than the $3 million reduction the district faced in last year’s budget, she said.

The legislature just finished a 30-day special session and will return for a short session in January in hopes of finalizing budget reductions.

“I expect several short sessions before they are done,” Campbell told the board.

What came out of the last session was a proposal from Governor Christine Gregoire’s office for a reduction in K-12 funding of $370 million. The Washington House of Representatives and the State Senate have not accounted for all reductions, Campbell said, but reduction projections range from $200-$700 million in K-12 funding.

Although the district will be forced to make some tough decisions, there are planning pieces in place from last year’s budget planning, when the district faced $3 million in state revenue reduction, Campbell said.

“We have some really great budget goals,” she said.

From last year, there is a list of about 400 essential services that will have to be assessed with the questions, “Do we need this and can we do this better?” Campbell told the board.

Some ways the state may make those cuts in funding include reducing the school year by four to as many as 10 days, she said.

These statewide efforts may also include eliminating some funding for class reduction initiatives in K-4, reducing National Board Certifications payouts for teachers and reevaluating how enrollment projections are calculated.

While issues of budget constraints and finding a new district leader persist, the school board elected its new officers to move forward with the tasks at hand. Rick Hendricks was elected board president, Bucich was elected vice president, Chamberlain was elected the legislative representative, and Sherm Voiles was elected the legislative representative alternate.

The next board meeting is scheduled for 6 p.m. January 11, 2012 in the boardroom of the district’s central office.

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