January 31, 2023

After School Programming is returning to Whittier Elementary this February! Register February 3rd!

Registration for all clubs will go live Friday, February 3rd at 3pm; registration information will be available here when registration opens: https://whittierptaseattle.org/after-school-programs-at-whittier/. Spots will be given on a first-come, first-served basis, so please be sure to mark your calendars! If you are interested in financial assistance, have questions, or would like to be a volunteer hero, please contact Jared at programs@whittierptaseattle.org.

THINGS TO CONSIDER

• Prices range from $50 – $230 depending on the club
• Spots are limited, so be sure to ask to be on the waitlist if classes are full.
• The Whittier PTA only coordinates building reservations and hosts registration links for these independent enrichment providers. Please note: Whittier Elementary and Seattle Public Schools are not affiliated with or connected to the Whittier PTA Programs offerings or these individual program vendors. The enrichment providers will be managing registrations and schedules independently for each program. 

AFTER SCHOOL ACTIVITIES BEING OFFERED FOR WINTER QUARTER

MON	TUES	WED	THURS
Wildcat Players Musical (4-5) with Miss Steph – Cast A (2:25-4pm from 2/13-6/9)*	Gamer Group (K-2) with Mr. Buck (2:25-4pm from 2/28-4/25)	Ultimate Frisbee with the WUF Gang (Disc NW) (2:15pm-4:15pm for 1-1.5 hours, exact timing TBD from 3/1 – 5/20) at Loyal Heights Playfield**	Gamer Group (3-5) with Mr. Buck (2:25-4pm from 3/1-4/27)
Spanish Immersion with Jump on Languages (2:25-4pm from 2/27-4/24)	Wildcat Players Musical (4-5) with Miss Steph – Cast B (2:25-4pm from 2/13-6/9)*

*Whittier Wildcat Players Musical audition sign-ups will be on a sheet outside Ms. Steph’s classroom starting January 30th. Auditions will be held on February 6th and 7th. 

**Transportation assistance not available. Offsite activities are independent and are not subject to Whittier PTA, or Whittier Elementary guidelines and standards. Please contact Disc NW directly for any information regarding their program.

Questions? Contact Jared, Whittier PTA Programs Chair.

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Understanding SPS: Budgets, School Enrollment, and Fiscal Policy

If you haven’t heard, Seattle Public Schools is facing an impending budget crisis. SPS is predicting a $127.3 million dollar budget deficit for the 2023-2024 school year (compared to this year’s $10 million dollar projected deficit). While there’s discussion of using rainy day funds to improve the shortfall and some potential legislative wins (that could infuse $37.8MM into budgets next year), short-term solutions and small legislative gains don’t address the continued deficit projections for the years ahead.

During their third budget work session of the school year, the SPS School Board reviewed their initial budget balancing concepts. While budget plans for next school year won’t be confirmed until July 6, current plans primarily include reducing Central Office spending next year by $20-$36MM and reducing school-level spending by between $9-$11MM. What’s school-level spending? This budget work session first identifies cuts to “Cert Core” staffing (or 0.5 FTE allocated to schools with significant enrollment for an additional counselor, librarian, nurse, or teacher), increasing sizes of K-3 classrooms, reducing school discretionary funds and Assistant Principal support, and another $1.9MM in “school programmatic changes.”

Remember–Whittier’s current budget from SPS doesn’t fully fund the staff and services needed for our Wildcat scholars, including literacy support, a full Specialist schedule, adequate nursing and social worker staffing, sustainable teacher discretionary funds, and more (in fact, we weren’t assigned the allocated part-time Assistant Principal this year due to “budget”). Whittier PTA, through generous community fundraising, fills this gap–and it’s likely that SPS’ “school-level” reductions slated for next year will mean an even bigger gap to fill.

Washington State funding, representing roughly 60% of SPS’ total funding, uses enrollment for its allocations. The downsides to enrollment-based funding is that it neither considers the minimum cost of running a school of any size or in higher costs areas (the facility’s costs, essential staff required for the facility and by law, etc) nor does it help schools or districts find funds to “bounce back” from declining enrollment.

When examining SPS’ own school line-up in our broader North-end area, the challenges of this model become obvious. (With a few exceptions) schools featured in the chart below are all Tier 4 schools per SPS’ own weighted funding model and should have similar per student spending. However, the minimum cost of running a school drives up the per student funding dramatically, meaning schools with more enrollment (like Whittier) have to help more students with fewer dollars to spend on each one compared to their under-enrolled counterparts.

School	January 2023 Enrollment	2023 Budget Allocation	Per-student	Tier
McGilvra	220	$2.5 millon	$11K	4
Montlake	181	$2.5 millon	$13K	4
Northgate	189	$3.0 million	$15.8K	3
Sand Point	161	$3.2 million	$19.8K	4
Stevens	169	$2.7 million	$15.9K	4
Sanislo	179	$3.1 million	$17K	4
Viewlands	273	$3.7 million	$13K	4
Licton Springs K8	96	$2.7 million	$28K	4
Sugiyma HS	31	$1.1 million	$35K	N/A
Queen Anne Elem	202	$2.4 million	$11.8K	4
John Hay	276	$4.0 million	$14.5K	4
Cedar Park	202	$2.3 million	$11.3K	4
Madrona K5	215	$2.8 million	$13K	4
Sacajewea	202	$3.6 million	$17.8K	4
Decatur	208	$2.1 million	$10K	4
Middle College HS	53	$2.1 million	$39K	N/A
Whittier	363	$4.1 million	$11K	4

While not considered for next year’s budget, the School Board’s budget work session did address the idea of school consolidation for the ’24-25 school year. They discussed a “system of well-resourced schools” and identified its process to begin work on school consolidation would begin “next fall” (although no specifics were provided during the work session).

Should SPS consider proposals to combine schools? If they’re considering combining under-enrolled schools, like Licton Springs K-8, with surrounding neighborhood schools (like Adams, Whittier, and Whitman), they wouldn’t be alone. While these conversations aren’t popular, proposals to examine opportunities for low-enrolled schools are happening nearby–Bellevue School District recently heard proposals to combine neighborhood schools with higher enrollment than some SPS schools. However, SPS appears to be going in the opposite direction: Northgate Elementary construction continues to provide space for 650 students, but the school’s current enrollment is only 189. Similarly, Montlake Elementary’s planned $64.8 million dollar construction project (still in its permitting phase) is planned to provide space for 500 students despite the school’s current enrollment of 181 and Stevens Elementary that sits 0.4 miles away with an enrollment of 169.

Whittier faces an enrollment challenge for next year–SPS’ current budget model requires Whittier enrollment to increase by 25 net students or we’ll face increased staffing challenges next year. Our School Board and District leaders face big decisions ahead; as a community, it’s vital we share our voice if we have an opinion on how SPS faces this budget reality. Share your voice by contacting our School Board Director, Lisa Rivera Smith (lisa.rivera.smith@seattleschools.org or 206-475-1817), provide feedback to SPS directly using the Let’s Talk tool, and attend and provide testimony at School Board meetings and budget work sessions. Key meeting dates to make an impact:

Want to learn more? For an amazing overview from Principal Watters of how Whittier’s budgets and funding are structured, both year over year and in comparison to other SPS schools, we encourage you to watch this recording of last week’s Community Meeting (skip to 12:08 – 35:53). You can also contact Principal Watters with questions or join the conversation at our next PTA meeting.

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Introducing….a new school-wide resource aimed at embedding EDI principles into the classroom year round! Rebellious Read Alouds by Vera Ahiyya.

Whittier staff are thrilled to be using the book Rebellious Read Alouds this year! It’s a compilation of picture book read alouds that are organized by different themes:

Within each theme, there are 5-6 picture books included that help teachers and students explore deeper conversations in age-appropriate and meaningful ways. These picture books feature characters that are diverse in many ways, and the texts are written and illustrated by people from traditionally marginalized groups. The books are a jumping off point for classrooms to learn, connect, and embrace the world we live in through rich conversations centered around these themes.

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Reminder:

Friday, February 2 is a REGULAR school day
(revision from earlier school calendars)

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FEBRUARY LUNCH MENU

For all SPS menus, visit https://family.titank12.com/menu/LPX5UV

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Thank you, Wildcats!