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Superintendent warns of multi-year enrollment decline and $3.65M projected gap; social-worker roles flagged for reduction
Summary
Superintendent AJ Fuelling outlined declining enrollment projections and scenario cuts that would lower a $7.4M baseline deficit to about $3.65M; among options discussed were reductions affecting 12 social workers (about $1.3M) and other staffing adjustments, prompting vocal concern from teachers, principals and community members.
Superintendent AJ Fuelling presented an updated budget outlook March 10, telling trustees the district faces declining enrollment and diminishing state and federal grants that together drive a structural budget shortfall for FY2026–27.
"Without some adjustments, fiscal year '27 currently, expenditures exceed revenues fairly significantly," Fuelling said, summarizing the district's projections and the cohort-survival method used to forecast student counts. The presentation showed a projected revenue decline of roughly $650,000 compared with current year estimates because of lower enrollment and described multi-year trends: a projected drop of about 100 students next year and continued decreases in subsequent years.
Fuelling presented targeted reductions and scenarios that would lower an unadjusted $7.4 million deficit to about $3.65 million. Proposed changes included general-fund reductions to instructional-support roles (the presentation described a net 4.12 FTE reduction tied to six positions with partial grant funding), middle- and high-school teaching reductions, and an executive-level administrative assistant reduction. Special-education contract and service adjustments were projected to yield roughly $750,000 in savings; nutrition and other funds were also under review.
The superintendent said the district identified 12 FTE social-worker positions that currently cost about $1.3 million. He explained those roles were initially funded through a mix of state and federal grants and have been moved onto grant funding when possible; many of those grant sources have diminished. "We have 12 current staff members that are social workers for the district ... that in total is about a $1,300,000 program," Fuelling said.
Trustees and public commenters strongly urged the board to seek alternatives to eliminating school-employed social workers. Trustee Peterson recounted multiple community contacts pleading to preserve social workers and asked staff to explore every option. Site leaders and union representatives said some federal grants (Project AWARE, mental-health block grants) can partially support tier-3 services, but cannot fully replace a school-based social-worker team that provides daily, tier-1 support and continuity.
District staff said contractor-based services and community partners will continue to provide tier-3 interventions, and that some contractor funds (about $200,000 referenced for next year) could be used to sustain targeted services; however, staff warned contractor partners cannot replicate the everyday presence and relationships that school-employed social workers provide.
Fuelling and his team framed the reduction proposals as part of a multi-step process: continue recruitment where possible, prioritize minimizing classroom impacts, and bring more-detailed budget proposals back to the board. The district reported reserves of about $18.5 million that provide a short-term buffer, but Fuelling warned that continuing current deficit spending could exhaust reserves in a few years if enrollment and revenue trends do not improve.
No final personnel reductions were approved at the March 10 meeting; trustees asked staff to continue bargaining-unit discussions, pursue grants and contractor options, and return with more-detailed proposals ahead of the tentative and final budget deadlines.
