This, then, is how the sausage is made.
The Coupeville School Board met for two hours Thursday with Superintendent Steve King and new Business Manager Brian Gianello during a public budget workshop, a week before a vote may be taken on that duo’s proposed 2023-2024 budget.
The board later went into executive session for an hour-plus to discuss labor negotiations, with no public action afterward.
The public workshop played out in front of a small gathering of 11 people, including a school board candidate, a Whidbey News-Times reporter, and several school employees.
In the early going Thursday there was a restrained sense of humor at play, though much of that faded over the course of the two hours.
There were no direct confrontations, but there were also no conversations about specific budget cuts, such as those affecting Dean of Students Tom Black, Athletic Trainer Jessica Caselden, and the trimming of paraeducator hours.
Much of the two hours consisted of Gianello — who replaces the retired Denise Peet after his own 21-month run with the La Conner School District — attempting to answer questions about why expenses and revenue don’t match up in many parts of a budget which has not officially been presented yet.
Gianello and King stressed things were very much in flux.
On the downside, insurance costs to the district recently shot up higher than expected.
On the plus side, approval of a new grant surfaced just prior to Thursday’s workshop, raising hopes of continued access to new revenue streams.
While recent trends seem to indicate a rising student population, concrete figures on butts in chairs won’t be known until after the start of school, with those numbers capable of greatly skewing how much money the district receives from the state.
“I don’t have a crystal ball,” Gianello admitted.
The superintendent is working under a school board mandate to cut up to $1.45 million after the district’s general fund dipped well below where board members want it to be.
King has cut $1.269 million, with those cuts listed here:
https://www.coupeville.k12.wa.us/Page/300
Additional cuts could be introduced before the budget hearing, which is set for next Thursday, July 27.
Adding to the crush of preparing a budget, with the goal of having it accepted by the board by the Aug. 1 deadline, the district is still undergoing an audit.
“In my years in schools, I’ve never seen this before, with an audit still ongoing after March,” King said, while stressing there have been no signs of trouble emerging from that review.
In their interactions with Gianello, board members were clear about what they want to see going forward, with transparency foremost among them.
“I would like to have a simple, straightforward way to be able to compare expenses and revenues in each department,” Nancy Conard said. “That would be very helpful.”
The former Coupeville Mayor, who did Gianello’s job for many years as the district’s Business Manager, was joined in her concerns by fellow board members Sherry Phay, Alison Perera, Morgan White, and Christie Sears.
“As a district we don’t have a good history in recent years going forward into fall and winter,” Phay said.
Phay, with the support of fellow board members, is pushing for the budget to be a more concrete document, instead of one which merely authorizes King and Gianello to be able to operate financially.
“We can go into the new school year stronger,” Phay said. “We have to.”
While individual job cuts were not addressed Thursday, some concerns raised included what appears to be $300,000 less budgeted for supplies, and the $40,000 needed to pay for a board-approved new math curriculum not included in the budget.
While pointing to what appears to be a $20,000 shortfall for paying for that material, Perera reminded the room the district has already agreed to purchase that curriculum.
“I think there’s more to it than that,” said King, who promised the board he would follow up on the matter.
The superintendent, who started the night off by noting he and others were wearing “July casual” as they get back into work mode, was returning to action after being on vacation for several weeks.
Board members raised the idea of having another workshop between Thursday’s meeting and the July 27 budget hearing, but King has a final pre-approved mini-vacation next week with grandchildren visiting, making that a no-go.
His stated goal was to deliver a written response to board members Friday with how he sees the proposed budget matching up with the district’s strategic plan.
Gianello is expected to have a revised budget, and his own written response to board questions, finished by Tuesday, July 25.
Two days later the board meets at 5:30 PM in the Anderson Board Room (#305) at the district office, which sits right in front of Coupeville High School.
Open to the public, that meeting will be live streamed, public comment will be accepted, and additional items will be included on the agenda.
The primary focus will be the budget, and the board can vote that night, if it chooses to do so.
If not, the clock would be ticking, with Aug. 1 the deadline set by the state for schools to submit approved budgets, though extensions can also be granted.
Coupeville Sports 