(Originally published March 16, 8 p.m.)

A survey released by the Bellevue School District in order to identify possible cuts, increases and reductions to school services has caught the ire of students and parents alike in Bellevue.

The survey asks residents to identify 60 “points” – or items – to select as possible reductions or fee increases that could save the district as much as $6 million next school year.

Included in the survey are various cuts to activities and athletics – including the elimination of swimming, golf, wrestling and gymnastics, a move that would save the district $170,000 – and affect 757 student athletes.

The district is expecting a deficit of $4 million to $6 million.

The possible elimination of these sports brought a crowd out to Tuesday’s school board meeting at the Wilburton Instructional Center. Several students spoke, all with the same message: don’t eliminate sports programs.

“Everyone gets to be on the team, everyone gets to swim, everyone gets to make a difference,” said Sally Gordon, a Bellevue High School junior and a three-year member of the Wolverines swim team. “I look forward to it every year. Please, please don’t cut it.”

The board took questions for nearly 30 minutes before ending the session. Several stayed outside the building after the meeting ended to share their thoughts on the budget.

Some feel the cuts, regardless of sport, take away opportunities for students to better prepare themselves for their college search.

“For me and my peers, it’s very important,” said Sammamish junior Samantha Simas, a captain for the Totems swim team. “The BSD keeps forcing these Advanced Placement classes on us and that’s not enough. You need to be well-rounded and they’re cutting all of our options. It’s not enough to get into a top college anymore.”

Several Bellevue coaches, including Bellevue Coaches Association president Pat Jones, maintain the problem with cutting sports now is that it is a short-term solution.

“Once they’re gone, it will be hard to bring them back,” said Jones, a longtime Bellevue football assistant with six children in the district. “We need to focus on what is best for our kids.”

Other items on the survey include:

• Reduce maximum temperature in winter in all buildings by one degree to 71 degrees Fahrenheit ($75,000 savings) or reduce maximum temperature in winter in all buildings by two degrees to 70 degrees Fahrenheit ($150,000 savings).
• Increase meal prices by 25 cents. Low-income students receiving free and reduced price lunches will not be affected ($180,000 revenue).
• Increase boundary for elementary school students to quality for bus transportation to one mile radius boundary. Eliminates nine bus routes ($315,000 savings).
• Eliminate elementary enrichment program ($300,000 savings).
• Reduce 17.0 classroom teachers in grades 9-12. Average class size would increase by 1.0 student ($1.36 million savings).

Other items call for the reduction of elementary art, music, and physical education teachers by half ($1.28 million savings), elimination of all elementary librarian positions ($970,000 savings) and elimination of all fifth grade band and orchestra teaching positions ($410,000 savings).

A full version of the survey is available below.

Despite boardmember Peter Bentley’s pledge that the board felt it was important to bring “everything to the table”, some district parents, such as Jones, feel the board has left one important item off the survey – reducing the number of class periods at the high school level from seven to six. The survey included a cut to six class periods for grades 6-8, but did not consider the same for the high school level. An estimated $1.9 million would be saved by reducing to six periods at the middle school level.

“If you do that, you get rid of the budget problem pretty quick,” Jones said. “It should at least be on the table.”

Sherwood Forest Elementary technology specialist and district parent Marie Cummings disagrees with that assessment. Cummings says cutting down on class periods will take away on other opportunities for students, especially for those enrolled in the rigorous International Baccalaureate program at Interlake.

“That program requires six class periods a day,” said Cummings, whose son Eldon is also a swimmer at Interlake. “You lose that extra period, you lose the chance to take any electives.”

Jones says there isn’t a perfect plan to appease everyone.

“It’s not like the district can raise a magic wand and raise more money,” Jones said. “If you give money to one side, you are taking it from the other.”

The results of the survey will be used by the district’s Fiscal Advisory Committee, who will in turn make a recommendation to Superintendent Dr. Amalia Cudeiro, who will then give her recommendation to the school board.

This story was originally posted at 7:02 p.m. on March 16.

Photos by Joshua Adam Hicks

Reference Guide on Possible Budget Reductions and or Revenue Increases