by Jack Darnton
As the Anacortes community changes, our School District has been forced to change along with it.
As reporter Kimberly Jacobson’s story today illustrates, Anacortes is getting older, housing here keeps getting more expensive, especially for young families, and the combination means school enrollment has been tailing off after a long run of growth and then relative stability.
Fewer kids mean fewer dollars, so school leaders have been forced to rethink, rearrange re-prioritize — and regroup.
This is a challenge — not a catastrophe — that will be with us for at least another five years according to projections. The School District knows what’s ahead and has been busy with the changes needed to fit the new financial landscape.
The cuts and consolidations have been made more difficult by the other serious funding problems brought on by the recession, but it’s clear that fundamental changes are in store in the future regardless of the action, or inaction, in Olympia.
This isn’t a case of making some trims and cuts to marginal programs and riding things out until enrollment stabilizes or starts to climb a bit. And it isn’t a situation where fewer students mean all the building issues the recent bond proposals were to address disappear.
It’s going to take some serious restructuring along with cuts that will be hard to swallow for some.
Can the district continue to get better as it gets smaller? Superintendent Chris Borgen thinks so.
It won’t be easy. This has been wrenching year. But it’s certainly possible. Helping out the district immensely is the strong volunteer presence in our schools and the community support. People continue to be generous with their time and money and are keeping some programs and activities off the chopping block.
A strong staff adds to the mix as the district keeps its focus on getting kids as ready as possible for their next step, whether it’s first grade, middle school, college or the work force.
Education will be delivered in different ways in coming years — think of more combination classes with students from different grades and buildings, for example — but the mission remains the same.
With our help, and a lot of hard work, the School District can continue to excel.
