CPSD Moves Forward With Enrollment, Revenue Projections

The effects of the sweeping cuts to K-12 education passed in the State Legislature this week are not known, but the Clover Park School District is moving forward with enrollment and revenue projections for the 2011-12 school year.

In a public budget forum Wednesday night at district headquarters, Finance Director Kristy Magyar said, regarding the $32.2 billion state budget for 2011-13, "It will take awhile to trickle down (and for us) to know what to expect for our district."

CPSD will complete its budget by July 11.

“We have been as conservative and prudent as we could be when we pulled those numbers together,” said budget manager Sara Bonneville. “We weren’t being Pollyanna and saying it will be raining dollars.”

CPSD expects an enrollment of 11,134 students for the upcoming school year, which is 183 less than in 2010-11.

“While that sounds somewhat shocking,” Magyar said, “budgets are based on a model.”

The Cohort Model looks at the previous year to project the next year by factoring in statistical averages of how many students will move from grade to grade. For example, Magyar said, “If there are 100 third graders, how many of them will be here as fourth graders?”

District officials also unofficially poll principals and military liaisons to learn about potential impacts of new housing developments in town, deployments or the influx of troops to Joint Base Lewis-McChord.

However, because fewer students than were expected enrolled in CPSD this year, the difference in enrollment could be as few as 27 students.

“The science doesn’t always work,” Magyar said. “We’re a pretty transient community because of the (military) community.”

Despite facing a $5.6 million deficit, CPSD through retirements and resignations, as well as cuts at the central-office level.

Among the projected affects on the district budget are the suspension of third-year cost-of-living adjustments; no more state-funded Leaning Improvement Days (LID) days; and the suspension of K-4 enhancement. While regular Learning Assistance Program (LAP) funding was not cut, the district expects to lose about $900,000 in supplemental funds.

Concern was expressed about LAP funding being cut altogether, but Magyar said that CPSD being a Title I school means that is unlikely.

The district will also still receive funding for its Highly Capable programs.

Magyar said that they knew the district would not be allocated additional federal stimulus money beyond the $2.1 million it already received, “so we did some really great things with it.”

Magyar said that the bottom line is that the district knows how much it needs–“but we also need to know how much we are going to get.”

With an operating revenue of $131.8 million and capital revenue of $6.5 million, the district is projecting for total revenue of $138.3 million for the 2011-12 school year. The money comes from a variety of sources, including the state’s general-purpose and special-purpose funds, federal funding and local and non-local taxes.

“Hopefully, we’ll get more than we think we’re going to get,” Magyar said.

The district expects to have firmer numbers in place by its school board meeting on June 27.