Aberdeen and Hoquiam Superintendent Presentation

May 28, 2019

Both superintendents stressed that the numbers are changing as more information becomes available from OSPI. For example, Dr. Henderson shared that the document for this meeting was already prepared when at 2 p.m. last Friday the district learned that the "Hold Harmless" amount was not at least $900,000 as indicated in earlier documents, but closer to $500,000. The district has asked the state to review this change.

At the School Board's meeting on Tuesday, March 5, 2019, Superintendent Alicia Henderson provided an update on projected revenues and expenditures. Given the continued forecast for declining revenue she recommended that the Board proceed with plans for budget reductions of $3.5 million for 2019-2020. The Board set March 9 as the date to consider a resolution authorizing the superintendent to plan for reductions and April 16 as the date to review the plan.

On February 7, 2019, Joel Aune, executive director of the Washington Association of School Administrators, announced that an agency work group had spent months studying the new funding model and had identified more than 100 school districts that are negatively impacted, including Aberdeen and most of Grays Harbor.

WASA calls it the "Hold Harmless" proposal -- the idea that Districts should not be less funded under the "McCleary Fix."

Additional WASA documents include:
WASA Hold Harmless Proposal
WASA Hold Harmless Background
Eligible School Districts

On July 14, 2018, the School Board conducted a special meeting for a presentation on the impact of the new funding model for 2018-2019 and the forecast for future years prior to adoption of the budget on July 17.

In January 2018 when it was becoming clear that the new state funding model was not going to amply replace local dollars in Aberdeen (and most districts on Grays Harbor) the District invited the ESD's budget expert Cal Brodie to give a presentation in the Auditorium at Aberdeen High School.

The information shared included an analysis of the fiscal impact of the new funding model for all Grays Harbor School Districts. ESD Analysis for Grays Harbor