Port Angeles School District to cut 8 FTEs in budget
Published 1:30 am Saturday, May 9, 2026
PORT ANGELES — The Port Angeles School Board approved a resolution to eliminate 8.1 full-time-equivalent positions as part of an effort to close a projected $1.9 million shortfall driven by declining enrollment, rising costs and state funding that has not kept pace with increases in employee compensation.
The board voted 5-1 on Thursday with impacts on the district’s 2026-27 budget.
Superintendent Michelle Olsen said the district developed the reduction plan by reviewing staffing and operations across departments while trying to minimize impacts on students and preserve existing programs.
“Doing this work is never easy when we’re looking at reductions,” Olsen said. “Those are people. Those are people’s livelihoods. So we take that very seriously.”
The plan includes a 0.1 full-time-equivalent reduction to a French teaching position, one maintenance position and seven paraeducator positions. In addition, 8.3 certificated staff positions and 5.0 classified paraeducation positions were eliminated through attrition.
Even after those steps, Olsen said the district still faces an approximate $500,000 gap that administrators plan to address through reductions to materials, supplies and operating costs (MSOC).
The district will lose 135 students next year and will face higher costs tied to mandatory employee pay increases that aren’t fully funded by the state, about $200,000 in increased insurance costs, another roughly $180,000 in district liability insurance increases and the addition of two special education classrooms.
Board director Nancy Hamilton asked whether the district would still be able to meet students’ needs with individualized education programs, or IEPs, under the staffing reductions and what other options had been considered before administrators proposed eliminating positions.
Hamilton’s was the lone no vote.
“I don’t support this resolution,” Hamilton said. “I don’t have enough information on the prioritization process to support this measure at this time.”
Board director Ned Hammar said it was important for him to explain publicly why he supported the resolution and outlined three reasons for his vote: that local bonds and levies don’t fund teaching positions; declining enrollment had reduced state funding tied to district staffing; and the district had prioritized compensation increases for teachers and paraeducators over administrative raises.
He said maintaining the district’s financial position is important as it prepares for future bond sales tied to school construction projects. The district expects to move forward with another bond sale in October.
“I do really believe that reduction in force now for the purpose of remaining financially responsible and viable is an investment in our future because we need that good credit rating,” he said.
School districts in Washington are required to maintain balanced budgets or risk entering binding conditions, a process in which the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction oversees the district’s finances to help restore fiscal stability and prevent insolvency. Six districts in the state are currently operating under binding conditions and one under enhanced oversight.
“We are in a better position than a lot of districts where they’re having to drastically cut programs,” board director Kirsten Williams said.
Olsen said the district is continuing efforts to increase enrollment, noting that 85 kindergarten students signed up during a recent kickoff event. She said the district also plans to continue promoting its transitional kindergarten program for 4-year-olds and expand outreach for its online Seaview Academy outside the North Olympic Peninsula.
Separately, Hamilton announced she would recuse herself from discussions and votes involving certificated staff collective bargaining agreements because her husband is employed as a teacher in the district.
“Recusal in this circumstance is the lawful and ethically appropriate course of action,” she said.
In other news:
• Port Angeles High School Principal Jeff Lunt introduced seniors Becca Manson and Kody Williams as the district’s students of the month. Lunt said 165 students, or 79 percent, are currently on track to graduate. He said he meets regularly with students who are struggling academically, encouraging them to continue working toward graduation even if they do not finish by June 12.
• The district anticipates announcing next week the new principal at Hamilton Elementary School who will replace Gary Pringle, who is retiring at the end of the school year.
• Hurricane Ridge Middle School’s mascot will be the Ravens after fifth- , sixth- , seventh- and eighth-grade students voted on the choice for the new school, which will replace Stevens Middle School when it opens in fall 2027.
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Reporter Paula Hunt can be reached by email at paula.hunt@peninsuladailynews.com.
