VANCOUVER, Wash. — For the third year in a row, Evergreen Public Schools in Vancouver is facing major budget cuts. They're looking at a nearly $20 million budget shortfall and considering several cuts, including eliminating elementary school librarians. The move would follow the district's decision to cut librarians at middle and high schools the year before.
"These are the [elementary school] kids that still have the imagination, they still believe in the magic," said Evergreen parent Angie Bunda. "To have librarians taken away from them, who can no longer show them and inspire them through books, is devastating."
The district is also considering cutting fifth-grade orchestra. During Tuesday’s school board meeting, a fifth grader named Maddie addressed board members with a plea to keep the program.
"Orchestra has brought out my love for music," Maddie said. "Librarians have had such an impact on students. They make them love reading. This will lead them to success when they have a job because no matter what job they have, they're gonna need to read."
During the meeting, Superintendent John Boyd reminded parents that he volunteered to take a $25,000 salary reduction next year and that the district is also looking to cut 30 positions in the district office to save $3.5 million.
"The surveys, the community meetings, the outreach groups have all been important for us to listen to, while continuing to focus our goals of our strategic plan and the necessity of balancing our budget," Boyd said.
For some parents like Megan Taylor, those remarks did not sit well. As district enrollment dwindles within Evergreen Public Schools, Taylor said she's thinking about leaving as well.
"One hundred percent, to the point where my son has been sad thinking that we may put him into a private school," Taylor said, through tears. "I'm not going to continue to invest all my time and energy in our school district that is not investing in our students."
The district is also considering reducing security personnel within its middle schools from three staff members down to one per school. Some paraeducators and intervention specialists — teachers who help students with special learning needs — may also get cut.
"Go back and look at the drawing board," testified academic intervention specialist Linda Davis, during the meeting. "See some other areas you can cut above literacy."
The school board will take the next two weeks to consider everything on the table and return for a vote on budget cuts March 26.