Friday Family Message
Hello Families
This week marks the end of the third quarter of school. While in school buildings this week, our halls are fully decorated with spring-themed artwork.
Our students enjoy all that spring brings, from the weather to athletics to longer days, and the excitement of the final months of school.
We have a lot of work ahead of us as we round out the school year. All schools are in the early phases of developing school improvement plans for the 2024-25 school year. Meanwhile, end-of-year celebrations and more are just around the corner.
The fourth quarter of school is the final stretch to the end of the school year, and with that comes the opportunity for our students to demonstrate their learning during state spring testing. While the state tests are only one measure intended to gauge student progress toward learning standards (not passing or failing school), they are essential and help us plan for the coming school year. You will hear more from your student’s school about the testing timeline and process in the coming weeks.
On another note, as we are developing our budget for next year, we are incredibly grateful to our community for supporting our EP&O replacement levy. This will allow us to maintain our current level of service for the people, programs, and positions funded by the levy. The passage of our levy has made the budgeting process much more positive than it would have otherwise been. Please read more about the budget below.
Thank you, as well, to all of our volunteers inside and outside the classroom. We appreciate your support, kindness, and dedication to our students!
Budget update
As we detailed in last year’s budget messages to the community, we — along with many districts across the state — continue to feel the financial effects of the McCleary legal decision, COVID, and stagnating funding levels from the state Legislature.
As part of the McCleary decision, most school districts saw their annual revenues from the state jump significantly during the first year. Districts in areas with a higher cost-of-living than most — like here in Stanwood-Camano — even received a bit more money using a funding model called “regionalization.”
However, the Legislature mandated that some of those extra regionalization dollars decrease over time — including a 1.5% reduction for next school year. This happened while district expenditures continued increasing to keep pace with inflation.
The result is a budget gap.
In recent years, school districts have been able to help bridge their funding gaps to some extent by reducing other costs and by relying on temporary federal money received during the COVID-19 pandemic.
We are thankful to our community for supporting our Educational Programs & Operations Levy in February, which maintained the local funding level. Without this crucial local investment, our funding gap would be much wider. Our main source of revenue comes from the state. Although we are thankful for the increases the state legislature did provide, a significant funding change did not materialize during this year’s legislative session.
Last year, the district reduced its spending by about $6.5 million and used about $1.5 million from its General Fund savings to help balance the budget. Now, the General Fund balance is closer to the board minimum of 5% of our total budget.
Meanwhile, we — along with other school districts and education organizations across the state — continue to advocate for funding changes from the state Legislature.
The school board will vote on a Reduced Educational Program plan during its meeting on Tuesday, April 16. In next week's Friday Family Message, we will dive deeper into how this plan will help guide the district’s next steps to craft a balanced budget.
Updated school calendar
This school year's calendar is now finalized. The school district was granted a waiver from the state relating to the days missed due to water damage from broken pipes this past winter.
As a result, the final three days of the school year will look like this:
- Friday, June 14 — will be a full day on a normal schedule
- Monday, June 17— will operate on a late-start Wednesday schedule
- Tuesday, June 18 — will operate on our last-day schedule (7:40-9:40 a.m.for secondary and 9-11 a.m. for elementary)
The 2024-25 school calendar is still in development. The calendar is created with our labor partners and must be finalized/approved prior to June 1.
3 school campuses qualify for free meals next school year
Three school campuses in the district have qualified under a new state law to offer free meals to all students in the 2024-25 school year. This qualification is reassessed each year. We acknowledge that the state designation at only three of our schools may cause confusion. This message is intended to help students and families understand school meal fees next school year.
House Bill 1238 requires school districts to provide meals at no cost to all students enrolled at campuses housing grades K-4, where 30% or more of students are eligible for free or reduced-price meals, based on building data gathered each October. The state will reimburse the district for the portion that would normally be paid by families at these schools next year.
The bill lowered the qualifying threshold to 30%, down from 40% for the 2023-24 school year. No Stanwood-Camano schools had met the higher threshold.
The qualifying schools are Elger Bay Elementary, Stanwood Elementary, and Church Creek Campus — which includes Lincoln Hill High, Lincoln Academy, and Saratoga. Free breakfast and lunch will be available to all students at these buildings next school year.
We request families complete our free or reduced-price meals application because it impacts the continuation of this benefit in future years as well as other federal and state funding for the district. It also unlocks student and family benefits in the district and community, such as lower utility bills.
Paid meals will continue to be offered at all other campuses, and students who qualify for Free or Reduced Meals will continue to receive free meals at all other campuses. Find information about meals, pricing, and more on our Food Services webpage.