Economizing education -- School districts forced to cut back

YAKIMA, Wash. -- Some parents will start driving their children to preschool. Middle school sports are being cut. Class sizes in many schools are bigger.

Zillah High School science teacher Jeff Charbonneau has seven laptops instead of 30 after his school decided not to buy more this year. Laptops for his entire class were part of the plan at his school, but statewide education cuts put the brakes on that.

"It's much easier to cut something you don't have yet than something you already have," Charbonneau said.

Everywhere in the Valley -- everywhere in the state, for that matter -- kids are heading back to school, the abridged version. School districts are entering the 2009-2010 year with less money after the state Legislature slashed funding during the past session.

Although most districts avoided laying off teachers, schools have cut back on everything from sports to teacher training, field trips to transportation.

Bus routes are longer. Drug and alcohol counseling has been scaled back. Incoming freshmen at Davis and Eisenhower high schools will get short orientations on the first day of school, instead of tours and activities starting as many as three days early.

In May, the Legislature cut $1.5 billion in K-12 school funding as part of an effort to make up a $9 billion shortfall over the next two years driven by declining tax revenues. Federal stimulus money will help fill some of the gaps, but it comes with restrictions and will run out in two or three years.

To make up for the decreases, school districts have made cuts of their own, attempting to trim in places that affect students the least.

"We stayed away from the classroom," said Cece Mahre, associate superintendent for teaching and learning in the Yakima School District. "Nothing is touching the classroom."

The district, however, has scaled back on teacher training. Workshops won't involve as much travel and will often take place during scheduled work days, Mahre said.

Teachers don't like that, but they're generally more concerned about time with students, curriculum and equipment, said Vicki Dwight, president of the Yakima Education Association. Those funds in Yakima have been dwindling for the past several years, she said.

Most teachers spend their own time on annual training anyway, after starting their jobs with five or more years of college, Dwight said.

Professional development is a lower priority.

"It's not that we don't want to keep current ... it's kind of almost in a survival mode," Dwight said.

The Selah School District went from seven teaching coaches to two, meaning less one-on-one help for teachers trying to learn new techniques.

Students and parents will likely notice the holes when classes resume.

Wapato schools lost about 13 teachers to resignation and retirement who normally would have replaced. As a result, class sizes are increasing about two students, to 23 each in the elementary schools, said Charles Wheaton, executive director of support operations.

The West Valley School District has six fewer teachers who were not replaced after retirement or resignation.

"So yes, class sizes will go up slightly," said Peter Ansingh, superintendent.

Nor has the district purchased any new school buses. Its fleet usually gets two or three new ones a year.

West Valley district officials also have cut about $15,000 earmarked for drug and alcohol intervention.

West Valley has a contract with interventionist John Hutton of MERIT Resources to serve as a liaison between students who have been caught drinking or smoking marijuana, and their parents, agencies providing community service and counseling, and the school district.

That person will show up four days a week instead of five this year. West Valley Junior High School will get one day of their time instead of two, said Principal Jim Berndt.

Berndt said school employees such as counselors and teachers may try to pick up some of the slack.

"We probably won't do as good of a job at it," Berndt said.

The cuts are disappointing for educators but are better than losing classroom activities, they say.

"Our business though, to be really honest, is education and instruction," Berndt said. Alcohol and substance abuse among students "isn't a school problem. It's a societal problem."

Belt tightening will also affect tutorial programs.

The Yakima School District has scaled back after-school tutoring and pullout programs for students who need extra help to catch up in their studies.

That concerns Dean Compton, who has two sons, a seventh-grader at Washington Middle School and a sophomore at Davis.

"It's been a little bit of a worry," said Compton, president of the Washington Middle School Parent Teacher Student Association.

School has changed so much in the past generation, he said, that it leaves even parents who want to help their kids with homework scratching their heads. The emphasis on standardized testing, whether it's the WASL or something new, makes it even harder.

"All we're going by is what we learned when we were in school," he said.

The most critical time for providing students with extra help, he believes, is between elementary school and middle school.

"They really need this extra tutorial," Compton said.

The Zillah School District slashed the budget at five school buildings by 20 percent. It will be up to the principals to find ways to save money on supplies, materials and field trips.

"It is quite a hit," said Superintendent Kevin McKay.

The district will also not add anything new, suspending projects that up until a year ago were part of its plan. Zillah High School had planned to add boys and girls soccer starting last spring to the tune of $15,000 or more. Those teams will have to wait.

Charbonneau, the science teacher, also will wait for more laptops, even though a voter-approved levy called for the purchase of 30 new laptops during each of the next five years. He planned to have students create 3-D models of atoms and compounds. English teachers have used the laptops for writing lessons, all the while keeping students in their classrooms.

Charbonneau received seven new laptops donated by a local business, which he will keep in his room and let students use on a rotation basis. Meanwhile, the school's students will share 30 computers the school already had purchased.

Charbonneau is disappointed, but it's better than laying off teachers, he said.

"At the core, technology is great. It's phenomenal, but what really makes the difference is people," he said.

From athletics to sidewalks to music programs, cuts beyond the traditional classroom setting will be noticed as well.

Many districts -- West Valley, Prosser, Wapato and Mt. Adams -- eliminated C squads from athletic programs at high schools and middle schools. That means some athletes will get cut, even at schools that previously had no-cut policies.

And some sports league officials throughout the Valley have shortened seasons for nonvarsity teams.

Also, in the Prosser School District, Link Crew, a transition program for incoming freshman at Prosser High School, is gone. Parent-teacher conferences each fall and spring will go from four half days to two full days.

Camp Wooten, a popular fifth-grade retreat, barely made the cut.

Superintendent Ray Tolcacher suggested eliminating the retreat for the spring of 2010 to save as much as $16,000. The school board voted last week to keep it.

In Mabton, school officials have completely dropped the high school music program. It will save about $150,000 a year for classes that didn't attract a lot of students, said Superintendent Sandra Pasiero-Davis. The music teacher, who did not have a certificate to teach other subjects, was laid off.

Transportation is another target for some school districts.

The Sunnyside School District has eliminated bus service for all preschool children this year. Other districts, such as Selah, have eliminated some bus routes and expanded others.

"We're shifting them around and packing the buses," said Chris Scacco, assistant superintendent of the Selah School District.

At White Swan High School, sidewalks will tell the tale. Mt. Adams School District officials had planned to spend as much as $120,000 replacing cracked sidewalks at the high school.

"We will try to address those next year," said Richard Foss, superintendent.

* Ross Courtney can be reached at 509-930-8798 or rcourtney@yakimaherald.com.