Many schools across the Seattle Public School District have been affected by budget cuts for the 2018-2019 school year, and unfortunately, Genesee Hill is one of those schools. Our school was affected for a few reasons. Current enrollment is 678 students, which is below both the 692 student projection that the initial budget was based on last February and the updated projection of 686 this past June. Also, the shared equity priority that the district implements preserved staffing at schools with higher needs and reduced staffing at schools with greater resources and deeper programs that could absorb adjustments easier, like Genesee Hill.

Principal Kischner, Ms. Dunn and Ms. Henn worked closely with the Building Leadership Team (BLT) and PTA leadership to implement the budget adjustment in ways that respected the amazing staff members we have at our school, minimized disruption at the homeroom level and followed contractual guidelines. Starting October 1, the following plan to address the budget adjustment will be implemented:

• Reduce Physical Education to 1.6 teachers
• Eliminate our 0.5 Technology teacher
• Reduce our Math Specialist to 0.8 (four days/week)
• Shift our new Art teacher position to PTA funding
• Use savings from last year’s budget

Principal Kischner will be hosting a discussion about this plan and the budget adjustment at 5:30 pm Tuesday, September 25 in the library. Additional information about the plan for our school are included in his letter emailed to families September 24. Additional information on the district-wide staffing and budget adjustments can be found on the Seattle Public School District website, and questions can be emailed to Principal Kischner directly at gakischner@seattleschools.org or staffing@seattleschools.org.