Like many school districts around the state that are still reeling from the pandemic, Oak Harbor is struggling to keep up with the cost of supporting its students with disabilities, paying the bills and transporting students.

Thursday afternoon, Sen. Ron Muzzall and Rep. Clyde Shavers heard the district leaders’ concerns ahead of the upcoming legislative session, set to begin Jan. 13.

In light of a projected budget shortfall of $10 to $12 billion, Muzzall warned of major cuts looming ahead in the state, which he said are a result of the government’s inability to responsibly spend tax money for the past two decades.

“It’s dire,” he said. However, he said, hard times are an opportunity to create solutions.

With limited help from the state, the district has to rely on local taxpayers. If the levy renewal fails to pass at the election in February, the schools will have a hard time paying for some of the most basic necessities, like power, water and internet, said Board Member Nikki Tesch.

According to information provided during the meeting, there is a $5 million gap between the state’s allocation for “MSOCs” — which stands for materials, supplies and operating costs — and the projected need, which amounts to $12 million.

The district has also been underfunded for special education by $11 million since 2021. In the 2023-24 school year, the district was $3 million short of the $19 million price tag to fully support its students with disabilities.

Students in special education make up about 23% of the total student population. According to the district’s website, approximately 36% of those students have severe disabilities that require specialized care and instruction. Additionally, Oak Harbor has more students with disabilities than other districts do because Naval Air Station Whidbey Island is an Exceptional Family Member Program Base, meaning that the district attracts more families with disabled children.

District officials are hoping legislators will raise the Special Education State Funding Cap, which currently is set at 16% — which is the maximum percentage of students in a district that the state is willing to fund for special education.

Jenny Hunt, Broad View Elementary’s principal, said many children are struggling to sit still and focus in the classrooms, which is leading to stress and burnout among staff. To ensure schools have the staffing necessary to best deal with the issue, the state has to increase its support.

In an effort to save money, she said, the district has been working hard to ensure students have their needs met before they are evaluated and placed in special education.

Superintendent Michelle Kuss-Cybula pointed out that, despite the lack of resources, school districts are legally responsible for providing services to students with disabilities. In a recent example, the district was financially responsible for a student with needs so exceptionally high that no place in the state of Washington, not even Seattle Children’s Hospital, could help him.

As a result, the district had to pay to get out-of-state assistance.

Muzzall said the legislature needs to reevaluate how it’s funding special education. Shavers said increasing the cap is an ongoing effort in the legislature, and he is looking into ways that local health care facilities can support school districts.

Attendees also discussed how regionalization and experience factors put districts in rural areas at an unfair disadvantage compared to other urban and affluent districts, which they said are draining more resources from the state and are being “protected” by some legislators in Olympia.

Chief Financial Officer Amber Porter said some districts may be keeping their fund balance policies low out of fear of losing funding and suggested normalizing high fund balance policies as well as pressuring districts to be more transparent about their needs. According to Shavers, this concern is currently being discussed.

Transportation, which has been underfunded by $1.6 million since 2021, was also discussed.

While acknowledging the benefits of the McKinney-Vento Act, school leaders stressed the need for a revision.

The act establishes that homeless students have the right to continue attending the school they attended while they were permanently housed, according to the National Center for Homeless Education. Research shows that students who move frequently due to homelessness perform poorly in school.

However, Kuss-Cybula said, the act doesn’t always make sense. She recalled a student who left the area after being enrolled in the district for two days. To this day, the district continues to pay for this student’s commute to Oak Harbor.

Principal Hunt said similar applications of the act are not only costly to districts, but also disadvantageous for kids, who spend a significant chunk of their day travelling from and to distant locations, taking away an opportunity to connect with children and community members in the area they are currently living in.

Assistant Superintendent Dwight Lundstrom said the district is also struggling to keep up with a high volume of public records requests.

Kuss-Cybula requested scaling back some unfunded mandates that are placing an unnecessary burden on already-struggling districts, as well as the elimination of the 60% supermajority rule for bond measures.

Despite his concerns for the future, Muzzall said education was always a priority during past recessions and believes it will once again be treated as such.

A proud Wildcat grad, he added that Oak Harbor schools worry him the least in District 10, as “they always get it done.”