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Posts Tagged ‘Brian Gianello’

Lunch price hike proposed for CMS/CHS

Posted in school board, tagged , , , , on June 12, 2024| Leave a Comment »

If approved by the school board, the cost of a lunch at Coupeville Middle/High School will jump by 40 cents a day starting this fall.

In a memo to Superintendent Steve King, Finance Director Brian Gianello and the school’s Connected Food Program call for the cost to go from $3.45 to $3.85.

The change, which is on the agenda for Thursday’s school board workshop, would be the first price raise since the 2018-2019 school year.

That workshop, which can be attended by the public, is set for 5:30 PM in the Kathleen Anderson Boardroom at CHS.

Workshops, unlike regular board meetings, are not streamed.

The lunch price change will affect only the secondary school, and not Coupeville Elementary, thanks to the National School Lunch Program.

That program requires elementary schools to offer free breakfast and lunch to all students if 30% of the student body qualifies for free or reduced-price meals.

Coupeville Elementary currently sits at 38.05%.

State legislators have not stepped up to implement a similar program for secondary schools, however.

CHS/CMS offers lunch, but there is no plan to add a breakfast option for the 2024-2025 school year, according to the memo.

 

To read the memo in full, pop over to:

Click to access Meal%20Price%20Recommendation%202024-2025_Signed.pdf

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School officials address potential budget cuts

Posted in budget cuts, tagged , , , , , on March 14, 2024| Leave a Comment »

It’s liable to get worse before it gets better. But the goal of everyone involved is for it to get better.

That was the consensus Wednesday as the Coupeville School Board and the district’s Financial Director, Brian Gianello, met with the public for a listening event.

As the work on a budget for the 2024-2025 school year begins to heat up, no one involved sugarcoated things as they addressed the current financial shortfall.

The brutal reality is the district, like many in the region, is bringing in less revenue than it needs to break even, and officials expect to have to make substantial budget cuts.

Gianello opened things Wednesday by acknowledging the early projections of needing to slash $1.6 million — while already sobering — might not be enough.

“We could get up to two million,” he said. “Or possibly less. That would be the hope.”

With 87% of expenses related directly to staffing, that means the likelihood of cuts through attrition due to retirements and departures or “reduction in force” remains at the forefront.

“The unfortunate fact is this is going to affect (our) people,” Gianello said.

Board directors Nancy Conard and Alison Perera have been working closely with the finance director, and both spoke to the tough work required to right a ship which is drifting, but not sunk.

“This will likely be a multi-year process,” Conard said. “There may have to be deep cuts initially, which is not a fun process for anyone. It puts us all on pins and needles.”

The former longtime Coupeville Mayor, who was herself the school district’s Financial Director during times of great success, is well-known and highly respected for her fiscal credentials.

She brings an air of gravitas to her work, something on display as she joined Perera and Gianello in seeking a balance between the many positives offered by her own alma mater, and the hard choices likely needed.

“We take our budget work very seriously,” Conard said. “We know the consequences.”

During a period of turnover on the school board, the district also dealt with the pandemic.

Rising costs on everything from insurance to benefits, plus a failure of the state legislature to deliver on its financial promises, further complicates matters.

“It’s been a perfect storm of a bunch of things,” Gianello said.

Coupeville is far from the only district in a tough financial bind, however.

Gianello stated at the meeting that 28 of 35 districts served by Northwest Educational Service District 189 are on a “financial watch list.” Coupeville’s web site has that number listed at 25 of 35.

Three districts — La Conner, Mount Baker, and Marysville — are under “binding conditions” in which a district has had to borrow money from the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction.

Coupeville has borrowed money, but from its own capital projects fund, and outgoing Superintendent Steve King has stated “I do not anticipate that we will be going into binding conditions.”

The district borrowed $400,000, which it has a year to repay.

Gianello has previously stated the plan is to repay the loan in April, one of two months, along with October, when levy funds come in.

After that, it’s expected there will be an additional ask for approximately $800,000 in May “to be able to make it through the remainder of the school/fiscal year.”

As they work towards a budget for 2024-2025, school board directors want to better match revenues and expenses, while also restoring the fund balance.

The district is supposed to have 6% of its budget on hand, something which it has not been able to do for some time now.

This has been due to several factors, Conard said.

“I think there were likely overly optimistic budget estimates during tough times, and we were likely not as good on reporting as we needed to be.”

Moving forward, district officials will produce a “Modified Education Plan,” which will detail potential cuts. Also, an analysis is being done of current labor contracts.

The plan will be presented to the public in April, with more listening events planned in conjunction.

There is a May 1 deadline for unions to be informed of any possible “reduction in force” cuts.

The 2024-2025 budget needs to be adopted by the end of July.

Budget cuts will likely drive the conversation, as they did last summer when Dean of Students Tom Black and Athletic Trainer Jessica Caselden were among high-profile employees who at least initially lost their jobs.

Not to be overshadowed, however, are the many positives of the school district.

The search for a replacement for King has attracted 10 candidates to the full application process, and more are expected in the final days before the closing date.

Alison Perera spoke to the strengths of the district, from “the support of the community” to the “fact we have pretty safe schools.”

“Our staff know their students, those students are put first, and there is great participation by students, who have a sense of belonging and school and community pride,” she added.

“We don’t want to lose this.”

Academics, sports, and other extracurricular activities are strong.

While there will likely be differences in opinions in where cuts will be made, all involved pledged to take into consideration what community members and taxpayers have to say.

“When we have a modified education plan in place, we will hold more listening events,” Conard said. “And they will likely be more boisterous (than tonight), which is understandable.

“But this is necessary. If we don’t do it, the state will take control of our school district, and we don’t want that.”

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Coupeville School District finances still in flux

Posted in Not sports? Tough!, tagged , , , , , on February 29, 2024| 1 Comment »

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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“It’s about finding long term financial stability”

Posted in budget cuts, tagged , , , , on July 26, 2023| Leave a Comment »

Round two was a lot like round one, just with less people in the room.

The Coupeville School Board held a second budget workshop Wednesday, a day before its regularly scheduled monthly meeting.

The first go-round last week attracted an audience of 11 to watch Superintendent Steve King and Finance Director Brian Gianello present the proposed 2023-2024 budget.

This time around, there were three Coupeville Educational Support Association (CESA) union members and one sports blogger in attendance as the five board members peppered the duo with questions.

It all sets up Thursday’s marquee event, which is the official budget hearing and offers board members their first chance to vote on the budget.

Everything begins at 5:30 PM in the Kathleen Anderson Board Room (#305) at the district office, which sits right in front of Coupeville High School at 501 S. Main.

Unlike the workshops, Thursday’s meeting comes with live mics for board members, a full agenda, opportunity for public comment, and video streaming.

Hopefully.

The district sent out an email raising the possibility streaming may have issues with tech master Will Smith being on vacation.

“We will still provide streaming with the link and call-in instruction on the agenda,” Steve King said.

“But given the circumstances our video and audio may not be as effective as it usually is.”

That agenda can be found here:

https://go.boarddocs.com/wa/coupeville/Board.nsf/Public

Wednesday’s workshop came after the district released a revised budget (Version 4.0) at 11:30 PM Tuesday.

The short turnaround, which continues a trend of requiring board members to crunch endless pages of numbers in a very short period of time, is something those directors want to see changed.

“This is a process which could have been better handled on a year-round basis,” Alison Perera said.

“We need to standardize things, so we all have the same information, and the time to properly deal with that information,” added Sherry Phay.

All five board members balanced their comments, praising Gianello for his work on the budget after replacing the recently retired Denise Peet.

But they also stood firm that they need more time in the future to properly do their own share of the work.

“I am sympathetic to the situation Brian is in,” said board member Nancy Conard, who was Coupeville’s Finance Director for many years.

“But we need to improve how we, as a district, handle our financial reporting. And we need to have more lead time in the future to get all of our concerns answered.

“I want to see us proceed with extreme caution on this budget, and the next one, so we can have a true level of confidence in what we are doing.”

Gianello, who arrived in Coupeville after a stint as Finance Director for the La Conner School District, agreed with board members in general terms, and pledged to do his best to keep them abreast of his work.

“I feel really good about this version of the budget,” he said.

“I took your questions (from the first workshop) and talked to the state, and I think we’ve addressed many of your concerns.”

The proposed budget as it stands shows projected revenues of $18,443,000 for 2023-2024, with expenses of $18,438,027, giving Coupeville an excess of revenues of $4,973.

Wednesday’s workshop included much back-and-forth over how those projections could, or could not, play out.

Conard pointed to a line in the budget projecting the school’s Connected Food Program will generate a $50,000 revenue spike in “local money” thanks to the state legislature providing funding for elementary school breakfast and lunch.

“How is that possible, when breakfast is free for the students?” she asked. “Who’s paying? Where is that additional money coming from?”

“Um … staff sales, maybe?” was Gianello’s response after some paper shuffling, which received an arched eyebrow in response.

That exchange, while civil, captures the main difference between administrators, who appear to view the budget as a work in progress designed to give them the ability to make financial decisions, and board members, who want a more concrete document.

All agree that the ever-changing world has an impact, though there are differences of opinion on how to handle outside influences.

The loss of Covid-era ESSER funds hurts, as does larger-than-expected jumps in things such as insurance and food costs.

On the other hand, projections show Coupeville’s student count likely rising, which would provide more money for the district.

Availability of grants is also on the rise, Gianello said, though he agreed with multiple board members who pointed out you can’t count your grants before they hatch.

One thing that is for certain is that budget cuts will happen Thursday if the board approves the budget as is.

King was given sole discretion to cut up to $1.45 million after the board approved a Modified Education Plan in April.

This was in response to the general fund balance dipping well below 6% of the budget year’s expenditures.

As of June 21, the last time the cut list was updated, King had trimmed $1.269 million, and that list can be found here:

https://www.coupeville.k12.wa.us/Page/300

There is one change likely coming to that list, as King told board members the district will eliminate two teaching positions, and not four as originally planned.

Those cuts were by attrition, but increased class size requires more teachers at the elementary school level.

There are several new teacher hires on the consent agenda for Thursday’s meeting.

If approved, those jobs will still represent savings for Coupeville, King said, as the new teachers come in lower on the pay scale than the ones who retired.

Unless board members make their own counter moves, the other reductions, which include cutting Dean of Students Tom Black and Athletic Trainer Jessica Caselden and trimming paraeducator hours, go into effect with approval of the budget.

And those cuts likely won’t be the end.

“We’re likely just beginning with cuts,” King said. “Everyone is.

“With (the) McCleary (decision raising teacher pay) and Covid, and rising costs, the system is failing us; it’s not sustainable. Going forward, schools are likely looking at significant cuts.

“It’s not just a one-time thing.”

However Thursday plays out, and the months and years to come, board members seem united in one thing.

They understand the impact of a pandemic, of the legislature failing to keep promises, and of the ebb and flow of student counts.

They’re willing to give King and Gianello an opportunity to make their case, but want everyone — board members, administration, employees, parents, and students — to work towards one goal.

“It’s not just about keeping spending in check, fixing things for a day,” Alison Perera said.

“It’s about finding long term financial stability.”

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“Budgetageddon ’23” goes back-to-back nights

Posted in budget cuts, tagged , , , , on July 25, 2023| Leave a Comment »

It’s a double feature, sort of.

The regular monthly meeting of the Coupeville School Board, with the 2023-2024 budget hearing, is still set for Thursday, July 27.

But, at the last second, district officials have added a second budget workshop to the schedule.

Coming on the heels of a two-hour-plus affair July 20, this workshop is set for Wednesday, July 26.

All of these meetings are open to the public and start at 5:30 PM in the Anderson Board Room in the district office, which sits right in front of Coupeville High School.

There is no public comment at workshops, and the district chooses not to stream those meetings.

The regular meeting Thursday, which is the first time the board can vote on the budget, comes with all the bells and whistles – live mics, streaming, public comment, other items on the agenda, etc.

The 2023-2024 budget is the first presented by new Finance Director Brian Gianello, and has garnered increased scrutiny as Superintendent Steve King issues cuts in the wake of the school board approving a Modified Education Plan.

That plan was instituted after the district’s general fund fell below the figure set by the board as acceptable.

King, who has sole discretion on cuts, can slash up to $1.45 million.

As of June 21, the last time the cut list was updated, he had trimmed $1.269 million, with several cuts generating sustained blowback from the community.

The moves which have generated the largest negative response include cutting Dean of Students Tom Black and Athletic Trainer Jessica Caselden and reducing paraeducator hours across the board.

 

Budget cuts as of June 21:

https://www.coupeville.k12.wa.us/Page/300

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