Battle Ground schools propose restoring counselors, nurses and safety staff after levy loss; board gives input

Superintendent Denny Waters told the Battle Ground School District board on May 27 that staff recommend restoring a portion of the positions and services cut after voters rejected a local levy, but that the district can afford only a fraction of what was removed.

"We had to make $20,000,000 of cuts," Waters said, and the board’s restoration plan would bring back approximately 28% of those reductions. "We are bringing back things, but we are only bringing back approximately 28% of the cuts that were made or proposed, which means that 72% of the cuts that we proposed are still being cut."

Why it matters: administrators said the restorations aim to protect student safety and well-being while avoiding deeper financial deterioration. Staff said the district would use fund balance to cover about $6 million this year and $6 million next year — a total use of $12 million — but that the plan depends on passing a levy next year. Michelle Scott, the district chief financial officer, said the updated preliminary budget shows an ending fund balance of about $16.6 million and that the district’s financial health score would put it in a state “financial warning” with continued use of fund balance.

What the district proposed

Waters and CFO Michelle Scott outlined a two-year outlook and a prioritized package of restorations that would cost roughly $5.4 million to $5.5 million of the $6 million the district said it could restore this year. The list includes: school counselors districtwide; two school resource officers (SROs) — one at each comprehensive high school, funded in part by the county partnership; the majority of previously cut campus security positions (reduced but not eliminated); four LPNs and a nurse supervisor; five certificated staff to reduce class sizes where enrollment requires it; several assistant principal positions; one communications…