Facing a May 15 deadline to notify certificated teachers and other Vashon Island School District staff that their programs, hours of employment, or entire jobs would be cut, the school board approved a modified reduction in force (RIF) proposal for the district at a special meeting on May 14.

The board’s action restored several positions that Superintendent Slade McSheehy had originally proposed for cuts in mid-April when he first introduced the measure, saying it was needed to cure a projected $1.3 million shortfall in the district’s 2024-25 budget.

On May 14, McSheehy said that the restorations had been made possible by a total of $77,000 in donations raised by the Vashon Schools Foundation. (See commentary, page 6).

These restorations saved the jobs of one of two nurses serving the district’s 1,400 students, one of two counselors at McMurray Middle School; a member of the small intervention team that helps students at Chautauqua Elementary School catch up with their peers in reading and math; and a specialist who works with Chautauqua students to promote positive behavior.

These positions were repeatedly called out as crucial during board meetings held on April 18, April 25, and May 9, in dozens of public comments by district parents, staff, and students, as well as board members.

All said McSheehy’s original plan would cause harm to the district’s most prioritized students — those who were medically fragile, those in need of mental health support, and those who needed academic and social-emotional interventions to progress in their early childhood education.

The proposal approved by the board on May 14 still contains significant cuts to programs and staff.

These cuts include halving the hours of operation of McMurray Middle School’s library program — meaning that the school’s current librarian will be asked to work half-time as a librarian and half-time as a classroom teacher.

Two full-time positions are also still scheduled to be cut from the district’s custodial and grounds staff, and one almost full-time position for a food service worker will be cut.

Para-educator positions serving special education students have been cut by 1.2 FTE positions, although some of those positions will be reduced by attrition, with the district not filling positions following the resignations of current para-educators.

However, one special education para-educator recently hired by the district is now slated to lose their job entirely in the reduction.

Several teaching positions at McMurray Middle School and Vashon High School are also still scheduled for RIFs: these include 0.1 or 0.2 FTE positions, except in the case of Cristina Ramirez, an educator employed at 0.7 FTE who is also the advisor to Vashon High School’s Genderqueer Affinity Group and Queer Spectrum Alliance. Ramirez’s job is now slated to be entirely cut in the RIF.

Two other cuts are scheduled to eliminate the employment of a behavioral coach in the district and the job of the district’s HR/payroll specialist, working in the district’s business office supporting Director of Human Resources Amy Sassara.

The RIF package will cut McMurray Middle School’s football program — a savings of $2033 to the district.

The revised plan also reflects 1% salary concessions plus five furlough days from five district executives on the district’s leadership team: Amy Sassara, director of human resources; Kevin Dickerson, director of facilities; Kim Mayer, director of business and finance; John Stanton, director of technology, and the district’s director of food services — a role that will be filled by Cierra Hunzinger in the 2024-25 school year following the retirement of Lisa Cyra, the program’s current director.

Two other district directors who hold educational certificates — Director of Teaching and Learning Stephanie Spencer and Director of Student Services Kathryn Coleman — will not be subject to salary concessions.

Throughout the almost month-long deliberations on the RIF package, McSheehy repeatedly said that the board’s request to consider restructuring the district leadership team — a staffing group whose combined salaries total more than $1 million — would require more thoughtful deliberation and consultation from outside consultants.

The Beachcomber will soon report more fully on the school board’s deliberations regarding the reduction in force, detailing a $125,000 shortfall that McSheehy said on Monday still exists in the projected 2024-25 district budget.