Kalispell School District Moves Forward with Layoff Plans
Absent the passage of a high school levy this spring, the district is set to reduce its workforce by around 35 teachers
By Denali Sagner
Facing an estimated $2.7 million budget deficit in the new year, the Kalispell Public Schools (KPS) is moving ahead with a major reduction in force, which is likely to include the layoffs of around 35 teachers if the district is unable to pass a high school levy next spring.
District administrators at a school board meeting last week outlined next steps for slimming down the KPS workforce, a process that will involve voluntary retirement incentives, reassignments and layoffs of staff.
“We’re entering into a phase of, probably, some uncomfortable discussions and some tough decisions,” KPS Superintendent Matt Jensen said at the Dec. 10 meeting. “But we feel the way we can honor our staff the best is to have clear communication, have a fair process, and be really transparent with the information that we’re sharing.”
Per a presentation by KPS Finance Director Chris Campbell, the KPS elementary district, which includes Kalispell’s six elementary schools and middle school, is facing a $1.2 million budget deficit. The district anticipates to reduce its elementary district staff by around 14 full-time positions.
On the high school side, the deficit is set to come in around $1.5 million, necessitating around 20 full-time staff reductions.
However, Campbell noted, if the high school district was fully funded with a general fund levy, it would have a $1.3 million surplus.
“That high school levy, the importance of it cannot be overstated,” he said.
Despite months of advocacy and targeted communications by school district advocates, Kalispell voters in May rejected a high school levy that would have cost $1 per month for a taxpayer with a home assessed value of $300,000. The levy would have brought $700,000 into the district’s general fund.
Campbell told the Beacon last month, “If we were able to pass a high school levy, there would be no need to reduce any staff at our high schools.”
According to KPS Human Resources Director Liz English, decisions about reducing the district’s workforce will involve a complex set of calculations including retirements, resignations, teacher seniority and the fate of any levies run in the spring.
English told the school board that reductions in force will begin with retirements and resignations while the district and its teachers union work to craft a seniority list, which will serve as the basis for impending layoffs.
The school board last month approved an early retirement package, which offers a one-time incentive payment of $30,000 to qualifying teachers who choose to retire at the end of the year.
The seniority list will be posted on Jan. 10, and early retirement incentive notifications will be due on Jan. 31.
The district will await further resignations and levy results through the spring, and official reduction in force notifications will go out in May.
KPS Assistant Superintendent Sara Cole said that the district is now attempting to “do this so that, through the reduction process, we are making the necessary reductions for sustainability but also not drastically burning out our teachers and / or changing the student experience.”
KPS joins districts across the state as it faces unprecedented budget woes and prepares to lay off staff. The Helena, Missoula and Laurel school districts all announced layoffs this year, and the Billings school board voted to close one of its elementary schools and turn the building into a public charter school in order to “balance the budget.”
Public education advocates cite an out-of-date state funding formula that has failed to keep up with inflation and forces districts to levy local taxpayers to meet their budgets, a tall task as Montana residents contend with rising taxes and housing costs.