Evergreen board adopts Resolution 71 21, approving $14.44 million in cuts and net 82.3 FTE reductions
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Summary
The Evergreen School District board adopted Resolution 71 21 to implement the district’s final 2026–27 budget reduction plan, authorizing $14,438,000 in cuts and a net reduction of 82.3 full-time-equivalent positions after some additions; the vote was taken by voice and the motion carried.
The Evergreen School District Board of Directors on March 24 adopted Resolution 71 21, approving a final budget-reduction plan that the superintendent said will reduce net staffing by about 82.3 full‑time‑equivalent (FTE) positions and yield $14,438,000 in savings.
Superintendent Dr. Maloney told the board the district began the year with an approved beginning fund balance of roughly $22 million, had budgeted revenue of about $462 million and budgeted expenditures of about $467 million, and now faces updated pressures: an unanticipated enrollment decline of roughly 208 FTE (about $2.3 million in lost revenue), higher PERA and special-education costs (about $2.5 million), and a further-than-expected cut to levy equalization that reduced the district’s anticipated levy-equalization allocation to about $2.0 million this year. “Overall, when you add all these things together, unfortunately, we’re looking at a projected deficit of 8 point almost $8,200,000,” Dr. Maloney said in her report to the board.
The superintendent outlined how reductions and offsets were developed. The plan before the board lists roughly 126.1 FTE reductions before bringing back selected positions; after adding dean-of-student positions and certain instructional coaches, the net proposed reduction is 82.3 FTE. Specific changes Dr. Maloney described include cutting two transitional-kindergarten (TK) classrooms (she said the legislature’s TK funding cuts drove this), converting some elementary associate-principal positions into dean roles, an estimated 14 certified teacher FTE reduction tied to enrollment declines, and a 1.3‑FTE reduction in classified paraeducator roles.
Board discussion acknowledged the difficulty of the vote and the multi‑year context: directors said the district has pursued roughly $60 million in reductions over the past four years and described this as part of a three‑year effort to restore financial stability. Director Bocanegra, who moved adoption of the resolution, said the decisions are “never easy” and noted the board has worked to use attrition and restructuring to limit layoffs where possible. Several directors emphasized the importance of retaining student‑facing supports where feasible and pointed to principals’ discretion over LAP high‑poverty funds (about $230,000 cited) as one partial mitigation mechanism.
The board approved the resolution by voice vote; the chair announced the motion carries. The audio record provided did not include a detailed roll-call tally in the excerpt.
What happens next: Resolution 71 21 puts the reductions into motion under the district’s established personnel and budget procedures; the board and district staff said they will continue planning for year two and year three of a multi‑year strategy and will pursue additional options and community input as they implement the reductions.
Clarifying details: the superintendent’s slides and remarks in the meeting cited an updated projected ending unrestricted fund balance of approximately $13.9 million (about 1.6% of the fund), safety‑net reimbursements that improved by roughly $1.0 million, and specific program impacts including two TK classrooms lost due to state funding cuts. The record indicates the board discussed—but did not adopt at this meeting—additional options such as administrative salary freezes or further central‑office reductions.
