Pepper Fisher

Port Angeles – A significant reduction in student enrollments this year in the Port Angeles School District means school officials are going to have to make some difficult decisions in terms of budget cuts, and a reduction in current staff is likely to be included in those cuts.

Driven by Covid-19 concerns, PASD has lost the equivalent of 281 full-time students this year, reducing their anticipated revenue by $2.8 million.

Where’d the the students go? District spokeswoman Jennifer Sperline gave us a breakdown of the various reasons given for student withdrawal. It shows that 22% of those kids are home-schooling this year, up from 13% last year. 13% have enrolled in private school, compared to 5% last year, and 6% have opted for some version of online learning that does not include the district. Kindergarten enrollment is also down by about 40 students this year.

Fiscally speaking, something’s got to give. School officials say, first and foremost, they’re committed to creating a plan that limits the number of employees impacted by lay-offs or furloughs and that will maintain insurance benefits for all employees.

That said, they say they’ll be looking first to reduce non-employee costs, then eliminate unfilled positions, and finally align staffing levels to meet the reduced demand.

District Supervisor Marty Brewer says affected PASD staff will be notified in the upcoming weeks, and he anticipates the reductions will last until student enrollment increases.