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Mukilteo board hears plan for $6.2 million in cuts, about 41 FTE, tied to falling enrollment
Summary
Director of business services presented Resolution No. 9 proposing $6.2 million in reductions for 2026–27 — about $575,000 in non-staff cuts and $5.625 million tied to staffing (roughly 41.1 FTE) — largely driven by a projected enrollment drop of ~787 full-time equivalents over two years.
The Mukilteo School District’s director of business services told the school board that the district is preparing a reduced-education budget that would cut roughly $6.2 million and about 41.1 full-time equivalent positions for the 2026–27 school year.
John Coleman said the proposal, presented as Resolution No. 9 for first reading, breaks the reductions into $575,000 of non-employee costs — including smaller school discretionary budgets and reduced food-service capital spending — and about $5.625 million in employee-related savings, mostly classroom teachers and other staff. Coleman said 86% of the proposed reductions are tied directly to lower enrollment: the district has seen a decline of about 787 full-time-equivalent students over two years.
Coleman described the staffing proposals as keeping class-size ratios equivalent to those budgeted in prior years, meaning fewer teacher and classified FTE where enrollment has dropped. He said the district calculated reductions across categories to reflect how the district spends: “We add all of those up broken down between non-employee related costs $575,000 and then employee related or staffing costs of 5,625,000 totaling 41.1 FTE. You can see a total of $6.2 million,” Coleman said.
The presentation also cited continuing challenges the district faces from state funding shortfalls and “unfunded mandates,” as well as lingering effects from earlier school-funding decisions. Coleman said the district will attach a detailed sheet to the resolution when it returns for a board vote at the end of the month.
Board members asked clarifying questions about which positions are vacant, how many are planned to be restructured, and how reductions would be apportioned across grade levels. Coleman said two administrative FTE are targeted for restructuring, producing about $426,000 in savings, and that classroom teacher reductions reflect lower student rosters across all grade levels.
Next steps: Resolution No. 9 was introduced for first reading and is scheduled for board consideration at the end of the month with an accompanying attachment of line-item reductions and anticipated FTE impacts.
