Stories from local schools
The impact of decades-long State underfunding of K-12 public schools is devastating. Today, countless stories from local school districts show how this chronic underfunding is threatening the future for our students and for all of us. Here are just a few examples. To read more, go to In the News.
Sumner cuts teacher program: An initiative to help teachers improve instruction will disappear from Sumner schools next year, a casualty of hard budget times. Read more...
Bellevue high schools to lose their librarians: To some Bellevue parents, it's hard to believe that all five of the city's high schools made it onto Newsweek's list of 100 best schools in the U.S. -- and all five are about to lose their school librarians. Read more...
Budget cuts fell adored Puyallup teacher: Funding woes cause school to lay off enthusiastic emcee and educator to fourth graders. Read more...
6,000 teachers will lose their jobs statewide: The Bethel School District just announced 220 teachers will be laid off because of state budget cuts. In Kent, the 5th-grade instrumental music program has been cut without so much as a sad violin song marking its departure. The school board voted to cut the program and to warn 129 teachers they could be given the pink slip as a result of state cuts. Read more...
As cuts loom, students rally around teachers. Students protest layoffs, and some parents offer to raise money for staff salaries. Read more...
Eastmont schools could see layoffs, bigger classes, fewer teams, smaller programs: The plan includes laying off 12 to 24 teachers, up to 50 support staff and a few administrative positions...Also on the table: fewer electives; bigger class sizes; transportation cuts; fewer sports teams; reduced after- and before-school programs; and fewer specialists, such as librarians and counselors. Teachers will replace paraeducators for state- or grant-funded programs, such as all-day kindergarten or academic intervention. Read more...
Puyallup School District is considering significant cuts in educational programs to fill a nearly $16 million budget gap. The K-12 funding crisis is "at crisis point," the district says, leaving it facing "ugly options." Read more...
Education cuts mean layoffs of newest teachers: Thousands of Washington's newest teachers will soon be told they may lose their jobs this fall, the result of deep cuts made to the state education budget. Read more...
Spokane school district facing 'devastating' budget cuts: Spokane Public Schools is seeking community input to figure out how to cut as much as $9 Million out of this coming school year's budget. Read more...
Music, art, alternative education all at risk as schools struggle: The options are gut-wrenching. Cut a program for at-risk teens. Trim music classes. Shorten the school day. These are the possibilities principal Michelle Trifunovic is weighing as she tries to squeeze thousands from her school's budget and figure out what stays and what goes at Edmonds-Woodway High School this fall. Read more...
Schools prepare for worst case scenarios: Schools will have fewer teachers and more crowded classrooms this fall. Courses will be dropped. Orders for new textbooks will be shelved, and more kids will be forced to walk to school. Those are likelihoods local school districts are facing. Read more...