Parents say staffing formula penalizes inclusive schools after BF Day cuts

Parents and students told the board July 2 that Seattle Public Schools’ staffing and enrollment processes are disadvantaging neighborhood schools that serve students in inclusive classroom settings.

Katie Roberts, a BF Day parent and vice president of that school’s PTSA, said the district’s current staffing formula does not fully count special‑education students who spend most of their day alongside general‑education peers. "Last year, 15 students in our extended resource pathway spent 80% or more of their day in general education," Roberts said. "Next year, we're projected to have 11. These students are not visitors. They have desks, cubbies, classrooms, participate in morning meetings… Yet, under the current staffing formula, these students are not fully accounted for in general education staffing."

Other BF Day parents and students testified that the result of sudden downward enrollment projections was the loss of multiple classroom teachers, a resource teacher and specialist time — including a teacher they described as core to BF Day’s inclusion culture. Student Crosby All said losing that teacher also removed after‑school activities such as robotics: "If you don't count these students, we can’t get Mister R back," he said.

Several parents urged the district to change how it counts students on extended resource pathways (often described as ‘LRE 1’ in testimony) and to perform an enrollment count in August rather than October, arguing late staffing changes disrupt schools, cause layoffs or program cuts, and make it difficult to retain experienced teachers. Jana Hildebrandt (testifying as a BF Day parent) said her school received last‑minute projections that cut staffing and that, historically, fall enrollment has often been larger than earlier projections.

Board members acknowledged the concerns and said staff are reviewing enrollment and staffing processes; Dr. Buttleman (district CFO in attendance) and other staff described ongoing work on enrollment forecasting and the district’s use of projections. No formal board action was taken; parents asked the board to change counting and timing practices to avoid future mid‑summer cuts that, they said, undo school cohesion.

Speakers asked the board to adopt changes they say would better reflect inclusion‑based staffing realities and to ensure staffing decisions are made with clearer timelines and transparent projections before the school year begins.