By Dylan Reubenking
dylan@yelmonline.com
As the 2023-24 school year comes to a close, Yelm Community Schools is halfway through making its budget cuts amid the double failure of its educational programs and operations levy.
The YCS Board of Directors brainstormed revenue options for the district in a number of categories, including athletics, meal prices, insurance and facility use, during its Thursday, June 13, meeting at Ridgeline Middle School.
The district currently pays approximately $1.04 million for athletics across Yelm High School and Yelm and Ridgeline middle schools. At YHS, students pay $50 for their associated student body (ASB) cards and a $50 sports participation fee, while students pay $25 and $30, respectively, for those same fees at the middle school level. ASB funds, which are mostly managed by student ASB officers, help pay for equipment, uniforms, supplies, sideline gear and tournament fees, among other expenses.
YCS Superintendent Chris Woods said the district may increase these fees to match what neighboring districts charge and gather more funds for athletic programs.
“We know that we are going to have to increase. We’re pretty low, especially as you look across the board with all the other districts. We’ve been pretty low for quite some time,” Woods said. “One way to increase revenue is to increase fees. It’s obviously not something we want to do.”
Board member Casey Shaw asked Woods if the district has looked into fundraising opportunities or sponsorships to help offset costs rather than making significant cuts. Woods replied that the district has not necessarily done any sort of advertising or sponsorships in the past, but could look into it and what it might generate financially.
Board President Debbie Edwards recalled that when the YHS football stadium was built, entities wanted to purchase the rights to the name of the stadium, but the board turned down offers. She added that the district could look into that, or at least an advertisement on the scoreboard at the stadium. YHS Principal Curtis Cleveringa said the school has not been approached by businesses interested in the naming rights to the stadium but has had discussions with some looking to purchase banners.
Board member Bill Hauss said he “would really hate to change the name of the stadium” and prefers to keep the Yelm insignia, and Shaw added that everything should be on the table as the district looks for answers.
“I’m not advocating for any one specific thing. I’m just saying that I think there’s a lot of people and businesses in this community that would be willing to volunteer and to offer sponsorships,” Shaw said. “There’s some unique ways to bring some revenue in here. So rather than agree to make any cuts, I think we should be looking at some alternative funding mechanisms first. Once you’ve exhausted those elements, maybe we look at adding additional cuts.”
Woods said the district could consider charging for entry into sporting events besides football and basketball, which it typically hasn’t done. The district will decide what avenues to take during its next meeting.
The next category of discussion was meal prices, which will see a change in 2024-25 regardless of the board’s decisions. Meals for all elementary students will be free next year, while secondary student and adult meals may be adjusted. Breakfast cost $2 for grades six through 12 in the 2023-24 school year, while lunch and milk cost a combined $4.15. Adults paid $3 for breakfast and $4.75 for lunch. The school board was presented with three options and will take action at its next meeting.
Additionally, Woods said the district is discussing a $10 annual cost that would serve as insurance for technology, particularly Chromebook laptops, in the case of accidental damage or the need for hardware repair.
Jennifer Carrougher, the district’s chief of finance and operations, said it is common for districts to charge an annual fee and that YCS has been losing money on replacements without collecting any kind of revenue, especially when the majority of students took home Chromebooks while learning remotely during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Woods added that YCS will suspend refreshing Chromebooks for students going from fifth to sixth grade and from eighth to ninth grade, saving the district $350,000. The district is also suspending its teacher’s refresh of devices, which will save it another $160,000.
Finally, the board discussed the district’s facility usage and how local sports leagues and businesses utilize and pay for its fields and other facilities. The district has been content to allow many community and school groups to use its facilities for no charge and other groups for little charge, but that may change in 2024-25.
Woods said the district is proposing charging hourly rates for groups to use facilities such as the main gym.
“Currently, non-profit groups and Yelm Community Schools students don’t get charged for the main gym, but we’re proposing that it would be $55 an hour for that group,” he said. “We weren’t charging anything in a number of these areas, and that was the design when the bond came. The idea was that we wanted our families and our students to be using our fields. We were doing that at no or very low charge, and now, we’re proposing that we fall in line with what neighboring districts are doing. We’re nowhere near neighboring districts. We’re essentially giving our field space away and not covering our costs.”
To close the meeting, Woods said that 19 certificated provisional teachers appealed their reduction in force, and that 12 of them have either been recalled or accepted other positions in the district since the appeal, leaving seven remaining appeals.
He recommended moving forward with the reduction in force. Staff appealing their reductions will remain on the recall list for up to two years. If they are endorsed and qualified for a particular vacancy, they can be recalled, in order of seniority. The school board unanimously approved moving forward with the reduction in force.
The next school board meeting is scheduled at 6 p.m., Thursday, June 27 at the district office.
