Coupeville Schools officials forecast 1.66 million in budget cuts for next school year, plan to ask for an $800,000 loan in May to “make it through the fiscal year,” and acknowledge the district is on a “financial watch list.”
All of that, and more, is detailed in a report Finance Director Brian Gianello will deliver Thursday night to the school board.
That meeting, set for 5:30 PM in the Kathleen Anderson boardroom in the district office (right across from the CHS gym), is open to the public and will be streamed as well.
Brian Gianello
In his report, Gianello will address plans to repay a $400,000 loan in which money was transferred from the district’s Capital Projects Fund to its General Fund.
He states “projections indicate that we will be able to pay back the 400K interfund transfer loan, with interest, from General Fund back to Capital Projects fund in April as we are slated to receive the majority of local levy revenues that month.
“However, we will need another interfund loan transfer of approximately 800K in May in order to be able to make it through the remainder of the school/fiscal year.”
His report also details that the general fund remains “at critical levels that require close monitoring.”
Coupeville is currently on a “financial watch list due to declining cash balances and declining cash flow” and is being monitored by Northwest Educational Service District 189.
Four school districts in this region, including Gianello’s former employer, La Conner, are under “binding conditions” this school year.
That means the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction requires the districts to regularly file budget reports and restore financial reserves to certain levels by a prescribed date.
Those pacts span at least two years and are meant to help districts prevent financial insolvency.
In extreme conditions, OSPI has the power to dissolve school districts.
The last time that happened in Washington state was 2007, when the Vader School District was erased overnight.
Coupeville Superintendent Steve King said his district is not in a similar situation.
“We are currently on the watch list like the majority of districts in the region,” he said.
“Given this situation we absolutely have to continue to make budget reductions this year and likely in future years.”
He does not, however, believe Coupeville will be put under additional monitoring.
“I do not anticipate that we will be going into binding conditions this year as we can borrow money from our Capital Projects fund instead of having to borrow money from OSPI,” King said.
“When districts have to borrow from OSPI is when they go into binding conditions.”
La Conner, which placed Gianello on administrative leave in January of 2023 before he resigned a month later, appears to be pulling itself out of its financial hole.
According to public records on Board Docs, La Conner’s Deputy Superintendent of Finance, Human Resources, and Operations Dave Cram was “given a standing ovation from the directors for his hard work on the budget” at the Nov. 27, 2023, school board meeting.
Back in Coupeville, Gianello will also address the potential need for deep financial cuts when the district puts together its 2024-2025 budget.
King, who has tendered his resignation after a six-year run at the helm, is slated to leave at the end of this school year.
He was authorized by the school board to make 1.45 million in cuts during the last budget process.
That set off a firestorm in the community, when initial proposed cuts included Dean of Students Tom Black, Athletic Director Willie Smith, and Athletic Trainer Jessica Caselden.
The AD duties were to be handed to Assistant Principal Leonard Edlund, whose hours were also being trimmed, but that decision was reversed before the budget was finalized.
The other two positions were cut, but the athletic trainer position was funded for a year by the community, and Black returned on a part-time basis after Edlund had to take a medical leave.
During the debate over budget cuts, many in the community cited the cost of the district’s food service program, alleging too much was being spent for “restaurant level food” while the program, still recovering from pandemic restrictions, failed to show a profit.
Next budget, Gianello projects cuts of 1.66 million will be needed to balance the budget.
“Decreased federal funding and increased salary and benefit contract commitments coupled with not enough staff attrition, rising inflation, and increased insurance costs are indicating that budget reductions are needed as we continue to closely watch cash/fund balances and other key financial indicators,” he said.
“It will be extremely important to continue to right size district staffing levels and seek a sustainable model in this new volatile financial climate.”
Gianello also cites the cost of a search for a new superintendent, “15+ staff currently on and/or upcoming leave of absences,” and pending negotiations with unions as factors in reaching that number.
To read his report in full, pop over to:
Click to access 2024.02_Monthly%20Board%20Report%20Summary%20for%20February.pdf
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