Editorial: Subtraction only solution to schools’ budget woes

It’s only human nature that when community members got a chance to weigh in on potential strategies for solving Spokane Public Schools’ budget problems, most of them focused on what they want left alone.

Don’t increase class sizes. Don’t eliminate bus runs. Don’t diminish library programs.

Those are among the pleas delivered during two public forums held this week to talk about a funding shortfall of between $9 million and $12 million. The picture is somewhat clearer after the Legislature decided in Olympia how much – make that how little – it will send to local school districts for the 2011-’12 school year. But the remaining difficulties are severe enough to assure harsh impacts.

The guidance the school board needs now isn’t what it should spare but what it will have to eliminate from a $300 million program that serves more than 28,000 students. If there are easy decisions to make right away, the board should make them now and turn its full attention to the more complicated choices.

And there are.

On Monday night at Chase Middle School and Tuesday night at Glover Middle School, patrons were given a list of potential budget actions that will receive the board’s attention as it wrestles with its funding shortfall. The aforementioned class size increases, transportation efficiencies and library reductions were on the list. So were a host of miscellaneous cuts to items ranging from administration salaries to some insurance purchases.

Curiously, the list of prospective strategies included $2.5 million in possible spending increases.

The candidates for elimination were not on the list because they’re wasteful. They were there because the district’s financial situation is so critical that unpleasant decisions are unavoidable.

Arguably, the investments identified by the district are worthy pursuits. But as dire as the circumstances are, increases are not timely. Programs designed to reduce dropouts and rescue at-risk students are appealing, but if they’re paid for by doing even more damage to a core program that’s already facing inevitable harm, they’re unaffordable.

The district foresees consuming its modest $1.5 million in savings. The financial plan counts on getting a $1 million competitive state grant that isn’t certain. It shifts $181,000 in personnel costs to the construction bond budget, meaning the district will be paying interest on a slice of its operating costs. Even so, conditions still necessitate reduction or elimination of programs and positions that are in place now only because they were deemed to enhance the district’s most fundamental purpose: student instruction.

Excruciating choices and genuine sacrifices await. New expenditures have no place in the discussion.