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Newspaper Archive of
Shelton Mason County Journal
Shelton, Washington
September 10, 2020     Shelton Mason County Journal
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September 10, 2020
 
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Page A-2 Shelton-Mason County Journal Thursday, Sept. 10, 2020 By GordonMWeeks gordon@masoncounty com Four of the seven 'school districts in Mason Coun- ty did not lay off employees in the wake of budget cuts, while classified staff in the other three dis— tricts lost their jobs. Students in all seven districts are learning from home. The Southside School District didn’t cut employ- ees. “Because of the size of our district, being pre- pared financially for hardships is necessary every year,” Paula Flint, the district’s business manager, wrote in an email to the Shelton-Mason County . Journal. “We are uncertain of the final impact of the pandemic on our budget, but for this year, we feel we have enough in reserve to sustain.” The Southside School District’s budget for the school year is $3,622,022, an increase of about $78,000 from the previous year. The Pioneer School District did not lay off any employees. ' The district’s budget for the 2020-21 school year is $13,502,898, a dip from the $13,685,104 from last year. . “What has impacted our operating budget this school year is the significantly reduced transporta- tion funding along with decreased enrollment,” Su- perintendent Jill Diehl wrote. “Despite the loss in funding, Pioneer has strategically chosen to not lay off any employees or reduce staffing.” Pioneer temporarily furloughed eight classi- fied employees, but the district continues to cover the employees’ medical, dental and vision benefits, Diehl wrote. “When students return to school, all furloughed employees will return to work in our district,” she wrote. In the Hood Canal School District, “regrettably, we are in the process of reducing our staff due to declining enrollment and reduced transportation funding,” wrote Jeanie Beebe, the district’s direc— tor of finance and operations. “The reduction of staff may be a combination of furloughs and layoffs.” ' The district passed a 2020—21 budget of $7,967,869, a 9% increase from the previous year, Beebe stated. N 0 employees were laid off in the Mary M. Knight School District, which began the school year with 154 students. tram“ “I am not looking at reducing staff as long as we continue to meet our enrollment projects and state funding and apportionment continue at the current levels,” wrote Superintendent Matt Mal- ’ v, lery. He added, “If basic educa— tion funding, small school fund- ing, transportation funding and LEA (Lower Education Agency) all take reductions, we will have to look at staff reductions.” , The Grapeview School District reduced heurs for Mallery bus drivers, cooks, custodians, secretaries and para ' educators. “Our plan is to use Washington Employment Se- curity Department’s Shared Work program,” wrote Tracy Arkin-Mcguire, the district’s business man? ager and human resources director. “This program is a win-win for the' district and the employees, as it lowers our payroll costs because of the reduction of work hours, and it gives staff a portion of their unemployment benefit payment for the hours that, they do not work. During the pandemic the district does not have to repay the unemployment cost as it normally would as it is federally covered under the CARES Act.” The district’s budget for the 2020-21 school year is $3,306,323, compared to $3,438,910 the previous year. NORTH MASON The North Mason School District cut 42 posi- tions, including bus drivers, food service employees, para—educators and recess assistants. Those cuts trimmed almost $1 million from the budget for this school year. Two failed levies means the district’s last local property tax collection takes place in October, leav—’ ing the district with a $2-million reduction in local levy dollars this school year. “If we aren’t successful in another levy we will have to cut another $2.7 million dollars,” Ashley Murphy, the district’s director of business and fi- nance, said at the Aug. 20 North Mason School Board meeting. No layoffs at four county school districts The Shelton School District laid off 37'bus driv- ers. Journal photo by Gordon Weeks SHELTON Paraeducators, bus drivers and custodians took - the brunt of classified staff layoffs as the Shelton School District passed a budget of almost $65.5 mil- lion for the 2020-21 school year: The district laid off 113 employees, including the equivalent of almost 30 full—time paraeducators, 20 full-time bus driver positions — which means 37 drivers T‘eight secretaries, eight custodians, five food service workers, two mechanics and one ac- counting supervisor. The job of aquatic director was , reduced from full time to half time. Stipends for coaches have been canceled. The layoffs will save the district almost: $6.8 mil- lion, and budget reductions almost $3.1 million for a total of almost $10 million. SheltOn schools relieved by last-minute enrollments By Gordon Weeks gordon@masoncounty.com The Shelton School District based its $65.5 million budget for the 2020- 21 school year on the anticipation that 4,125 students would be learning from home. v So ‘district officials were alarmed when fewer than 3,800 students and their families had checked in last week when the school year began. The state allocates money to the district based on enrollment. That dilemma created “quite a few sleepless nights” for Superintendent We deliver or U-lmul' Alex Apostle, he told members of the Shelton School Board Tuesday evening at its regular meeting conducted via Zoom. ’ District officials were relieved when Brenda Trogstad, the district’s finance director, announced that the official enrollment tabulated Tuesday came to 4,215 students, 90 students more than projected in the budget. That means additional state money for the district, “We didn’t have the numbers we were hoping for last week, but we do now,” Apostle said. He added, “That’s glorious news, folks.” When fewer than 3,800 students NORTHWE me. TAYLOR TOWNE [llIARRY llfllll llPEN! had checked in by logging into the dis- trict’s online program, principals, as- sistant principals and teachers began calling families. Principals volunteered to go door- to-door to check in with families that hadn’t checked in with the district, Apostle said, but they were told that wasn’t safe during a pandemic. Many families chose to wait until af- ter Labor Day to enroll. The board also heard an update on construction projects at Shelton High School. . Project manager Jeff Feeney said the new softball and baseball fields are 7? A. oENTAL complete, and the new football field is expected to be finished Saturday. The district anticipates the new track will be completed Sept. 18, and construc— tion at the Mini—Dome by Sept. 28, he said. The pool should be done by the end of September, Feeney said. The new gymnasium at Bordeaux Elementary School is almost complete, Feeney said. r ’ Feeney. pointed out the district' started discussing these bond project plans almost five years ago.: “It’s starting to come together,” he said. . “It is together, Jeff,” Apostle replied. Come see why everyone is smiling! 95l W. KAMILBHE LANE Ill SHELTON NWRflcKfifllll orturmnnnAv-relnn. 7AM-4l;ill State Conn. Reg. No. NORTHRIOBSNO $69 NEW Nil lL'N'l' l'X/‘lM & X RAYS Sl’l.C[.-\ll ANY DL‘N‘I AL l'Rl..-\‘l"\1l'N'l We provide implants, oral surgery, root canals, veneers, crowns. bridges and more. llavc your dental work done right here in Shelton and save the driving for the weekend_ 182.9 Jefferson Street, Shelton - (360) 426—8401 .. i. 2 ;. ., ‘ wwwsheltondemaicentemom