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Parents, students raise alarms after midyear cuts reduce part-time hours at Northwest Optimist
Summary
Students, parents and Parks & Recreation staff described reductions to part-time hours and re-scheduling of classes at Northwest Optimist Performing Arts Center after midyear budget adjustments; Parks Director Melinda McMillan Miller said part-time wage capacity had been 'right-sized' to align with contracted budgets.
Multiple parents, students and Parks & Recreation staff told the council that reductions to part-time staff hours are reducing program capacity at the Northwest Optimist Performing Arts Center and other facilities.
Grace Carter, a student and homeschool participant, told the council she and about 50 other weekly homeschool attendees value the Optimist program and asked council to restore parks staffing. "We cannot lose our staff. We cannot endure another round of budget cuts," Carter said. Several parents and program volunteers made similar appeals; one parent described the center as providing "community and support" that helps children develop confidence and skills.
Melinda McMillan Miller, parks and recreation director, explained that the changes were not a line-item cut in the FY26 proposed budget but a midyear correction: as the department's overall budget contracted over several years, its ability to absorb part-time wage overruns declined. She said the department had reduced the number of part-time hours available, sometimes moving a class to a different facility or reducing the number of offerings to remain within budget and to meet supervision and safety standards (staffing ratios). "So it's not that the classes have been cut, it's the number of people who have the number of hour capacity in the budget to work," McMillan Miller said.
Council members and speakers urged the city to consider emergency funding ahead of summer programming and to prioritize long-term strategic planning for parks and youth services. A council member noted planned bond improvements that could include Northwest Optimist in future capital work but emphasized that those projects remain in planning at this stage.
Ending: No formal budget amendment occurred at the hearing; Parks staff said they are working to right-size operations and will continue discussions with council on priorities and options for restoring hours or using other funding sources.
