The Olympia School District (OSD) Reduction in Force (RIF) proposal has changed little from when it was initially presented at the March 26 board meeting. While expenditures continue to outpace revenue, the board has consistently given non-mandated raises and COLAs to the highest paid staff in the district, totaling over $350k since the 2021-22 school year.
The cuts are both drastic and unnecessary as our district recovers from the COVID-19 pandemic. Over the last 3 years, our community has mitigated school closures and vast program changes by advocating for more funding in the last two school years, and further increased funding from a levy cap lift in future years. Superintendent Murphy continues to blame Olympia’s elementary schools for not adhering to the state’s prototypical model of having 400 students in K-6, while Olympia has maintained a successful K-5 school model for decades, with our fluctuations in headcount at the elementary level being less than 6% from 2015 to present. This prototypical model for funding is also not applied to many choice schools and programs, but is for others, which creates a disparity in how schools are staffed, and their ability to grow and sustain themselves. Murphy’s newest reason for cuts is having a larger ending fund balance. OSD4All believes this is at the expense of student success. The diversity of neighborhood and choice is what makes OSD successful and attractive to prospective students and their families.
While OSD4All has advocated for thoughtful discussions about the future of our instructional model that favors equitable access to transportation, meals, reasonable class sizes, and instruction. That has yet to happen. These are the cuts our organization find the most concerning
Elementary Art Specialists – $667,000 cut
Art is so important to the city that our citizens voted to fund a grant with an added sales tax to sustain an inclusive nonprofit cultural and science sector. With elementary art specialist cuts, the RIF proposal states that ‘The district is returning to a model that emphasizes art instruction within the regular classroom, complemented by expanded partnerships with community organizations such as Inspire Olympia, rather than relying solely on a stand-alone art class.’ Inspire Olympia funds are not applicable to core instruction nor programming. This is a massive disservice to our community who consistently places a high value on the arts.
Family Liaisons – $340,000 cut
Discontinuing the Family Liaison Program because of its original funding source speaks to the short-sightedness of the district’s outlook on family engagement. These were permanent positions funded by a source OSD knew would run out. These family liaisons have been instrumental in helping families with attendance and navigating hardships pre- and post-pandemic. The effects of COVID are far from over for parents and children, and shutting this program down now is a hit to our most vulnerable populations. The state mandates that the school district must have family engagement, but it is not funded at the state level. Lets not lose traction on something we have, but make it a priority and push the state for funding.
Larger Class Sizes – $725,000 cut
The Olympia School District is already suffering from larger class sizes and inequitable resources, and the larger class sizes for 4-12 grades are due to a fiscal incentive for keeping K-3 classes smaller. Superintendent Murphy and former Director Huffman said there is increasing research that larger class sizes work, but this is generally in the context of private schools and higher education, where students can be curated. There is far more research that smaller class sizes profoundly impact student success. Class sizes being a district average that includes specialist time means that we do have schools with 26 children in kindergarten classrooms that are supposed to adhere to a 17:1 ratio. With a legislative priority being flexible K-3 size offerings, the district is the only one in the state looking to increase class sizes. Teachers districtwide are already being denied help in cases of overload, and programs with high enrollment are often not given the resources they need to sustain more students.
The national teacher’s union agrees. “The job feels more difficult than ever, union leaders say. ‘Shortages of educators means teachers are regularly giving up their planning time to help out,’ says Tim Martin, president of the Kent Education Association in Washington. ‘They’re overworked and exhausted.’ Meanwhile, students’ needs have skyrocketed.”
Avanti Lunch & Special Programs Food Distribution – Combined $48,744 cut
Avanti High School has not had adequate lunch offerings for the entire 2025/26 school year, as the district is attempting to administer lunch with less staffing at certain locations. Coupled with a decrease in food distribution to other programs that are spread throughout the district and the closure of the central kitchen bakery, the cooking staff is consistently being asked to do more with less, and students are not getting access to the same quality of meals. This will increase waste and as one revenue source is listed as expanding lunch offerings, we don’t know how that can be accomplished with less kitchen staffing.
Custodial Support & Utilities – $157,660
Over 41,000 square feet of unused district space is going to be left unclean and unheated. Since the 2024-25 school year, custodian time cuts have led to less AM childcare across the district, and unsafe conditions in our schools. Superintendent Murphy is choosing to make more cuts instead of being proactive and partnering with community groups to utilize underused space and generate income while retaining custodial support.
OSD4All acknowledges the issues with state funding, but what Superintendent Murphy and the board have continually ignored is the need for stability for students, staff, and families. Since Superintendent Murphy’s arrival, every year has been a funding ‘crisis.’ From the McCleary ‘fix,’ regionalization, the levy lid, decreased enrollment, increased use of special education services, to what is now a need for a larger savings account. This is a self-induced crisis. There are opportunities for leasing mini buildings, increasing access to vulnerable programs, proposing meaningful district office furloughs, and healing a very divided community. The failure of district leaders to empathize and represent our school district is concerning, and we kindly request that these reductions not be accepted at the April 23 board meeting.